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Detective suspended over real estate debtsBy LEANORA MINAI © St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- A veteran St. Petersburg Police Department detective is on paid leave pending an investigation into debts he owes on residential property in Hillsborough County. Mike Celona, an undercover vice and narcotics detective, has been sued for not paying $116,892 in mortgage principal, interest and costs on a Ruskin home he bought. He also faces another lawsuit over at least $3,600 in overdue rent for a home in Wimauma, said landlord Carl Robbins. "I hate to see anybody lose their job, but hey, if you're not going to pay your bills, you don't need to be a representative of the taxpayers of Florida," said Robbins, 63, a retired home builder. Celona, 36, could not be reached for comment, but court records in Hillsborough County detail serious financial problems. His bankruptcy attorney, James L. Clark, declined to comment. A St. Petersburg police employee for nearly 17 years, Celona has worked as a homicide detective and, most recently, as an undercover drug detective. St. Petersburg police officials said Thursday that Celona has been on paid leave since Feb. 2 after a complaint was filed by a Hillsborough County resident about delinquent payments. An internal affairs inquiry is under way to see whether Celona violated administrative police policies. Assistant police Chief Luke Williams said the investigation is a civil matter. He declined to discuss the case in detail. According to records in Hillsborough Circuit Court, Celona, his wife and four children were evicted in November 1999 from a 2,000 square-foot home in Wimauma. Robbins, the landlord, said he agreed to lease the house to Celona, his wife and their four children with an option to buy. But the family did not pay rent on time, Robbins said. And the Celonas now owe $3,600 in overdue rent and another $4,000 for damage done to the home's flooring, the landlord added. After Robbins sued, the Celonas wrote a letter to the Hillsborough County Court. In it, Mrs. Celona cites a disagreement over financing and the terms of the lease purchase agreement, and acknowledges that they ran into financial difficulty when she lost her job in May, 1999. "We had to move our children away from their friends, and we had to find a place for us to live all during the holidays," she wrote in January 2000. The matter remains unresolved. The Celonas moved into a house owned by Frank and Debra Donley in Ruskin. Frank Donley said Thursday that he agreed to cut $20,000 off the sales price and sell the $167,000 home to Celona. Donley said he agreed to hold a second mortgage on the home for $50,000. But Celona's first and second mortgage payments were late, and his $3,500 sale closing check bounced. On Oct. 20, 2000, the Celonas filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, which effectively stalled foreclosure proceedings. Celona, who earned $66,520 last year, and his wife, who works part-time as a bookkeeper, list their debts at $77,003, of which $16,396 is unsecured. A hearing to consider dismissing the bankruptcy case is set for 10:30 a.m. March 14. - Times staff writer David Karp and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
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