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Deputy: Candidate catches sign thief

Brian Flaherty sees a pickup driver take a sign belonging to an opponent. The suspect also had one of his campaign signs.

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published August 31, 2006

PALM HARBOR - Nearly all political candidates wish they could catch the bandits who snatch the campaign signs they so proudly post curbside.

On Sunday morning, authorities said, that wish came true for Brian Flaherty, a Republican candidate for state House District 48.

Someone had stolen or damaged some of Flaherty's 4-by-8 signs Saturday, so on Sunday morning, he was driving north on U.S. 19 near Alderman Road to fix and replace them.

About 11 a.m., Flaherty said, he saw that one of his signs was broken, and when he came back 10 minutes later, the sign was gone.

That's when he saw a red pickup with a blue trailer attached being driven by Dennis Frank Fabricatore. There appeared to be some of Flaherty's signs in the trailer.

"I made a U-turn, because I just knew," Flaherty said Monday.

Flaherty pulled into a parking lot and says he saw Fabricatore put one of Flaherty's opponents' signs in the trailer, too.

Then Flaherty made his move.

"I blocked him in, and I grabbed his keys and called the police," Flaherty said. "Kudos to Pinellas County Sheriff's department. They were there within 3 minutes."

Fabricatore, 53, of 6446 Winding Brook Drive, New Port Richey, was arrested and charged with grand theft. Released on $5,000 bail, he declined to comment when contacted at his home Monday. If convicted of the third-degree felony, Fabricatore faces as much as five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

"You hear about signs being stolen all the time, and every candidate prays and I prayed that if I just could catch this individual, and my prayers were answered," Flaherty said. "What's ironic is, I caught him stealing my opponent's signs."

Flaherty said the signs cost about $150 each. Along with one of his signs, there were two signs for Ken Peluso - another of the four candidates in the District 48 GOP primary - in the trailer.

Peluso said he had a Pasco County sheriff's deputy escort him to Fabricatore's home Sunday evening. Peluso said he had nearly $2,000 worth of signs stolen in the past few weeks.

"It's despicable that people would stoop this low in political tactics," Peluso said Monday.

District 48 covers parts of Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, East Lake, Oldsmar, Safety Harbor and Clearwater in northern Pinellas County and part of Holiday in Pasco County.

When first questioned, Fabricatore said he was with an environmental group, Flaherty said. He said he was taking the signs so he could use their 2-by-4 supports to build his girlfriend a shed. Fabricatore then offered to pay to replace the signs, Flaherty said.

Fabricatore told deputies that he was taking the signs for firewood, Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said.

Fabricatore is registered with the Independent Party of Florida and, according to tax records, owns at least seven properties in Pinellas County.

"He was driving a brand-new pickup truck," Flaherty said. "Why would he need to steal wood? He will not admit who he's working for. Ken and I know it's not us."

The other two candidates in the race, Robin Borland and Peter Nehr, denied knowing Fabricatore.

Borland said several of her large signs, including one at the Oldsmar Flea Market, had been stolen, too.

If guilty, Fabricatore should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, Nehr said. But he said he doesn't think yard signs help voters.

"I personally don't think signs make a difference between winning or losing," Nehr said. "If that's all they vote for, they should rethink their vote and look to the character of the candidate.

"If it was up to me, no one would have a sign," Nehr said. "They are a blight on the community."

But in the heat of the campaign, stealing signs is serious business, said Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark. Her office fields the many complaints of midnight sign disappearances. But with signs, there's nothing her office can do but refer callers to the proper law enforcement authority. Usually, no one is caught.

"Campaign signs are very expensive to have made, and the reason to purchase them is to get the name out in front of the public," Clark said. "When someone removes them, it has a negative impact on the person's campaign.

Demorris A. Lee can be reached at dalee@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4174.

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 20:06:06]