Stabbing ends the life of a young Cavanaugh's bartender

When Nick Pipino, a 23-year-old Drexel University graduate, worked his last night at Cavanaugh's Restaurant the week before Christmas, he was not thinking about death. Brian Pawliczek, Pipino's friend and co-worker, said Pipino had been joking around, talking about the future and the new diamond pendant he had just bought for his girlfriend, Katie. But that was before Darren Johnson, a man nicknamed "Mouse" by Cavanaugh's employees, allegedly stabbed and killed Pipino around 3 a.m. outside the restaurant. Pawliczek, who witnessed the stabbing, said that Johnson was often seen around Cavanaugh's and had even worked for the restaurant when extra help was needed. Pawliczek's father, the restaurant's owner, said the last time Johnson worked at Cavanaugh's, he had stolen a purse from one of the waitresses. After that incident, a couple of months ago, he was asked not to return. But just before 3 a.m. on December 20, Pawliczek said Johnson knocked on the window as he, Pipino and two other employees were closing up the restaurant. "We were counting tips by the window," Pawliczek said last week. "We were just sitting around and cracking jokes when Mouse started banging on the window. He said he had some stereo equipment to sell." Pawliczek said the four of them went outside because they suspected he may have broken into a nearby car and stolen the speakers. After searching the cars in the back of the restaurant and finding no damage, they went around to the front where Johnson was waiting. "When we got there, Mouse only had a pair of sunglasses," Pawliczek said. "We told him to get out of here, but he kept saying, 'Come on, help me out.' Then Mouse lunged at Nick. We never saw the knife." "Nick turned around and said, 'Mouse stabbed me,' " he continued. "At first, we thought he was just joking around, but then we could see the blood." Pawliczek said that one of the other employees drove Pipino to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where surgeons labored to mend a major artery in Pipino's body that allegedly had been cut by Johnson's single stab wound. He said Pipino was in surgery for five hours, but by the time doctors managed to mend the wound, Pipino had lost too much blood to survive. Meanwhile, Pawliczek said, he and a couple of other employees tried to chase Johnson. They did not catch him. University Police Lieutenant Gerry Leddy said Philadelphia detectives apprehended Johnson within a week, adding that the knife apparently used in the stabbing has been recovered by police. Johnson, who was charged with murder in the incident, could not be reached for comment. Philadelphia police said Johnson has entered no pleas in the case and is scheduled for a court appearance January 21. Jacqueline Pipino, Pipino's mother, said she is shocked by her son's violent death. "He was the most caring, giving humanitarian that anyone could ever be," she said. "That's why I can't understand why this happened. I can't believe the world the way it is -- the ugliness -- and how it has touched our family." She said he was planning to marry his girfriend, Katie Lucisano, and possibly attend law school at night while he worked during the day. Lucisano, Pipino's girlfriend for the past three years, said there was "something very special" about him. "He wanted to explore the world," she said. "His dream was to see everything. He had traveled all over the U.S. He was always looking for new adventures." Michael Minnella, Pipino's best friend, recalled Pipino's dreams for the future. "His biggest plan was to get 10 or 12 people, get a big boat and sail around the world," Minnella said. "That was his latest plan." Pipino's mother said she cannot believe that such an active person is gone. "He loved life," she said. "He had so many beautiful dreams and thoughts about what he was going to do." (CUT LINE) Please see PIPINO, page 3 PIPINO, from page 1