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Chief reveals efforts of police

The police chief shows a group of residents and business owners mug shots from arrests in the Clearwater-Largo Road corridor.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published February 26, 2005

LARGO - The faces stared out from the bulletin board of shame at Ted's Luncheonette Thursday evening.

Under each photo in the display was a caption that revealed the name of the person arrested and a list of their 2004 crimes.

One man was charged with five grand thefts, dealing in stolen property, resisting arrest and forging a check.

Another was there for sales of crack cocaine, drug possession and felony possession of a firearm.

All 34 individuals had been arrested in the long-troubled Clearwater-Largo Road corridor.

A mix of about 50 residents and business owners in that area who showed up for "Coffee with the Chief" examined the photos. Some of them recognized the faces.

"They said, "Yeah, I know him' or "I've seen him,"' said Largo police Chief Lester Aradi.

The arrests were made by a five-member special operations unit which has been working undercover in the corridor in the northwest section of the city.

For years, the area has been plagued by drugs and prostitution, prompting complaints by those who live and work there. Aradi created the display of mug shots as proof that the police department was not ignoring their pleas for help.

"For the last two years, I have assured them we are diligently working to surgically remove the cancer from the community," he said. "But it was not tangible. They could not see the officers in the community because they were not in uniform. Last night, we revealed the results (of the sting)."

Shirley Rigler, whose partner Bill Schultz owns Florida Inspection Associates on Clearwater-Largo Road, has been watching men picking up prostitutes through the front glass windows of the business for six years.

The daily ritual starts at 8 a.m.

"But not in the last few months," said Rigler, who was at the meeting. "There is a lot more police presence than in the past. Aradi gets an A for effort. There are no hookers walking by anymore."

Although prostitution has eased, the crime problem in the area "is not solved in any shape or form," she said.

While the prostitutes have moved on, the men who pay for their services have not yet gotten the message.

"They are still trolling the neighborhood looking for the $5 and $10 girls," Rigler said. "I was walking my dogs the other night and was followed. And I'm 42 and had two dogs."

To help get rid of the criminal element, Aradi introduced the six members of the new Problem Oriented Policing Team, a unit that will focus on fighting crime in the corridor. Each officer has between two and 20 years experience.

"We've got the POP cops," said Bill Schultz. "One of them is a narcotics cop. Having him with his experience is a great thing. This is all positive, all positive."

"We've got a great chief," he said.

Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 26, 2005, 01:15:19]