Baltimore's liquor board chairman, Stephan Fogleman, called me this morning with an update on Club 410, the bar that had been padlocked, linked by federal authorties to a drug gang and then ordered to sell its license.

A man who leased the club from the landlord threw a party Saturday night that got busted by police who said alcohol was being served. The man renting the space told me that while he charged a $5 cover, he gave away alcohol for free. He insisted the cover charge was not for the alcohol.

On Tuesday, Fogleman said authorities would have to prove that the cover charge also covered the alcohol in order for it to be a violation of the liquor laws. The owner is forbidden to sell alcohol until he resells the liquor license.

But Fogleman told me this morning that he researched the issue and it is illegal for any alcohol to be served when a cover is being charged. He told me authorities do not have to prove that the cover was for alcohol -- the mere fact there was a charge to get inside means the club owner violated the liquor board rules.

Fogleman's board must approve the sale or transfer of the liquor license, and he told me that this party could pose problems for the landlord.