Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Hired gun paid big to shock sales

Stinger Systems is counting on ex-cop Richard "Bo" Dietl's influence.

By SCOTT BARANCIK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 15, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Handout] Richard "Bo" Dietl says he will promote Stinger's stun gun on radio and TV, where he frequently appears.

Which company boasts the Tampa Bay area's highest-paid board member?

Forget about giants like Tech Data Corp. and Jabil Circuit. The most generous public firm locally may be Stinger Systems, a Tampa stun gun maker that welcomed director Richard "Bo" Dietl last week with options to purchase 1-million shares of its stock at just 20 cents per share. Sale of the stock at Monday's closing price of $1.20 per share would earn Dietl a cool $1-million profit.

Stinger is an unlikely standard-bearer for corporate excess. The troubled eight-person company lost $4.5-million in the third quarter on revenue of just $48,000. Its chairman and CEO, Robert F. Gruder, earned a relatively paltry salary of $250,000 in 2006. Two prior board appointees received options to purchase just 20,000 shares of stock apiece.

But if his first week on the job is any indication, Dietl - an ex-New York City homicide detective whose autobiography was turned into a Hollywood movie - may be worth his pay. On Monday, the voluble 57-year-old used an appearance on Don Imus' radio program to accuse stun gun leader Taser International of faking test results and offered the Scottsdale, Ariz., firm $100,000 to submit to a "fair" side-by-side test. Shortly before that, Dietl said, he and Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton attended a demonstration of Stinger's stun gun at the Los Angeles police academy. Dietl, who vowed to hold his Stinger stock for the long term, promised to promote the company during his frequent appearances on Fox News.

"Oh, I'm going to be everywhere," he said. "I want to see every police officer have a Stinger."

Stealing market share from industry leader Taser will not be easy for Stinger, which did not respond to interview requests Monday. Its 2006 revenue of less than $500,000 was dwarfed by Taser's $67.7-million. But Dietl claims Stinger's stun guns are as good as or better than Taser's at just half the price. The companies are fighting in federal court over mutual charges of patent infringement and false advertising. But the message could prove to be an effective marketing tool with police chiefs, with whom Dietl is notably chummy.

"I'm not in it to make the stock go higher without building a foundation of sales," he said.

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8751.

[Last modified January 14, 2008, 22:48:44]