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LORRI HELFANDCity wanThe Coliseum is said to owe nearly $36,000 for hiring off-duty police officers to provide security.
LARGO - Skirmishes between patrons at the popular nightclub Coliseum were so common they monopolized the attention of Largo's Police Department.
"The entire midnight shift had to respond to the Coliseum, leaving the rest of the community unprotected," Largo Police Chief Lester Aradi said.
Largo threatened to shut down the club at 13707 58th St. N if its owner didn't cooperate with the city's security suggestions, which included hiring several off-duty police officers on nights when the club hosted Tuesday night hip-hop parties.
Nine months later, Largo officials say the club now owes the city almost $36,000 for the Police Department's services.
Largo city attorney Alan Zimmet said the city made a security agreement with Richard Fabrizi Jr., who was listed in records as president of Coliseum Entertainment Inc.
But Fabrizi said he's not responsible.
"I own the building. But I haven't owned the club in over a year," Fabrizi said. He said he is no longer president of the company.
Fabrizi said his business partner, Anthony Gaudiosi, who now owns the Coliseum, was a victim of "extortion" because officers were assigned to the club without his permission.
But Largo Police Chief Lester Aradi called that "baloney," saying both Fabrizi and Gaudiosi were at a meeting in May during which they agreed to several security measures, including the presence of officers.
"(Gaudiosi) was in a meeting. He was there that day," Aradi said.
Gaudiosi confirmed that he bought the business from Fabrizi but declined to comment on the security costs.
"The city of Largo believes my client owes them money. At the present time, that is in dispute," said his lawyer, Ira Berman.
Zimmet said the city is dealing with Berman's office.
"We're going to probably be filing suit if we don't get money by Friday," Zimmet said.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, neither Aradi nor Zimmet were aware of any effort to pay the balance.
According to Largo's records, the Coliseum racked up more than $50,000 in costs for off-duty officers and has paid about $15,000 to date. The Coliseum was recently sent a bill for the balance, $35,852.50.
The department has off-duty details all over the city; clients are billed for each officer at the rate of $35 per hour, which covers salaries and administrative costs, Aradi said.
Aradi said the security measures were a necessity because of the volume of fights, assaults and arrests at the club.
"If we're not there, all of these fights and skirmishes could escalate to a serious situation with innocent patrons getting hurt. Our plan is to keep going until they're closed," Aradi said.
May 29, Zimmet wrote a letter to Fabrizi, threatening to pull his occupational license if the club refused to institute the city's security suggestions, including a suggestion to hire 10 officers and one supervisor on hip-hop nights, which draw up to 2,000 patrons.
The club complied with that and other security measures, including turning away men under 21, tightening the dress code and putting more lights in the parking lot.
The agreement was implemented June 5. Over the summer, Tuesday night crowds appeared controlled, so police decided to cut the number of off-duty officers at the club to five. From May to October, there were a total of 146 calls to the club.
On Oct. 29, a man and a woman were injured when they were shot after leaving the club. They did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
After the incident, Largo boosted security back to 11 police employees.
Late October, Coliseum management sent an e-mail to the city saying it was not willing to pay for 11 police employees because there were fewer patrons than before.
The club may soon cease to pose a problem for Largo police; St. Petersburg College has offered Fabrizi $1.55-million for the nightclub property. The college expects to close on the property next week, said Mike O'Keeffe, college spokesman.
Fabrizi would not confirm when or if the club would close its doors, but Aradi said Fabrizi told the Largo Police Department there would be one more Coliseum event on Tuesday.
Aradi said there have not been other incidents at the club as dangerous as the shootings, but on one occasion an officer was hit in the mouth and there have been numerous fights. The department has had 14 officers at the club for the past couple of weeks because it anticipated excited crowds.
"The reason we beefed it up is that every week we're told this is the last Tuesday night," Aradi said.
- Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com