Two Charged in Binghamton After-Hours Operation

Two people are accused of operating an illegal after-hours club on Binghamton's West Side where a man was fatally shot.

48-year-old Stephanie Zawko and 41-year-old Aali Tillman Sr. were charged Friday by the Broome County District Attorney's office.

Zawko and Tillman each face misdemeanor counts of sale of alcohol without a license and unlawful sale of alcohol for a profit.

District Attorney Stephen Cornwell said the two allegedly operated businesses known as "Club Platinum" and/or "Orton" at 223 Main Street.

24-year-old Brandon Hernandez was shot repeatedly in the head at close range on April 22 in an Orton Avenue parking lot outside the club.

Two weeks before Hernandez was killed, a Binghamton man said he was assaulted by about seven people after he visited the after-hours bar. That man told WNBF News he was charged ten dollars to enter the club and about five dollars to buy a liquor drink.

Cornwell said he had not been aware of the after-hours club until after Hernandez was shot.

People familiar with the Orton Avenue club said they had been told it was expected to move out of Binghamton and set up operations in Endicott.

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