Pubdate: Sat, 13 May 2006
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact:  http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Author: Milton J. Valencia, staff writer
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority.
Requires 'Letter to the Editor' in subject

POLICE MUM ON PROBE OF OFFICER

Sgt's Wife's Bar Suspected  Of Drug Activity

WORCESTER - The police sergeant whose wife runs a bar that  police
want closed for alleged drug activity is the subject of an internal
police investigation, though police sources would not reveal the
issues being  investigated. The same officer came under scrutiny 11
years ago for his  ownership of a house in the Main South section of
the city that was known for  drug activity.

Sgt. Herbert J. Campbell, whose wife owns On the Rocks on  Park
Avenue, was reassigned from a drug squad in 1995 after officials
learned he owned a duplex that was on the city's Top 10 list of problem
houses. Sgt.  Campbell sold the house after city inspectors
shut it down for code violations.

In 1994, the home at 2 Hathaway St. was identified by neighbors as a
drug house where prostitutes hosted tricks and tenants bought, sold
and used  drugs.

The building was on a target list of a Safe Streets Now program  that
had residents identify problem places in their neighborhood. The
police  chief at that time relieved Sgt. Campbell from his command of
a drug squad set  up to investigate such problem places, and he was
reassigned to the Operations Division. Sgt. Campbell, who has been on
the force for nearly 20 years, remains  in the Operations Division.

He was unavailable for comment yesterday  through a telephone call
made to his wife, Olga Campbell.

Mrs. Campbell  owns and manages On the Rocks, a bar popular among
college-age patrons. Police  are trying to close it for reputed drug
activity. Neither Mrs. Campbell nor her  husband has been charged with
any crime, though the Telegram & Gazette has  learned that the officer
is the subject of an Internal Affairs and ethics  investigation.

It was not known yesterday whether he was disciplined or  investigated
for owning the Hathaway Street house. Olga Campbell is listed as  the
sole operator of On the Rocks.

Concerns with the Park Avenue bar  began when police initiated an
undercover sting of bars after seeing an increase  of violent crimes
at city clubs. In some cases, victims who were known to police
wouldn't cooperate, leading police to believe they had gang
affiliations or were  trying to hide a drug trade.

On the Rocks became part of the  investigation after a rowdy fight
there last August. A police officer who was  part of a back-up team
was hit over the head with a beer bottle while inside the  bar.

"That brought the bar to the forefront" of the citywide bar  investigation,
Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said, adding that the level of  violence along
with the revelation that known criminals were in the bar raised  concerns.

"The closer we looked, the more we discovered there was  activity there that
was problematic", the chief said.

Since then,  undercover police officers have bought drugs such as
cocaine and marijuana from  seven different people during controlled
buys in partnership with state police.

One of the drug dealers was a 17-year-old who was in the bar drinking
illegally, police said. He was arrested immediately and charged with
cocaine possession. The arrest may have spoiled any future undercover
work in the bar,  but police believe the seven different buys gives
them enough evidence to try to close the bar.

Chief Gemme said other investigations continue, but that  he has
enough evidence to seek an injunction in Worcester Superior Court
declaring the bar a public nuisance. He will also forward the
investigation to  the city License Commission, which could suspend or
revoke the bar's license.

That issue notwithstanding, the owner of the building where the bar is
located said yesterday that she will terminate the bar's lease effective by
the end of this month because of the reported drug activity.

Chief Gemme  said that his investigators knew that Sgt. Campbell's
wife owned the bar when  the sting started, but that it did not affect
the probe.

"If it's a  problem property involved in the illegal activity, it's
irrelevant who owns the  place," he said. "It really became a problem when
we were dealing with the level  of violence and drugs in this place."

The chief said he could not  comment on Sgt. Campbell's past
scrutiny as owner of the Hathaway Street house,  saying he did not
have enough information and that he was not on the command  staff at
that time. He would only confirm that he was aware Sgt. Campbell's
wife  owned the bar at the beginning of the current probe. The chief
said he would not  comment on any personnel matters or Internal
Affairs investigations.

"Clearly, what I'm looking at is On the Rocks and the criminal
activity that took place at On the Rocks," he said.

Sgt. Campbell's problems with  suspected drug places began a decade
ago when the City Manager's Task Force on  the Removal of Drug
Houses identified 2 Hathaway St. as a problem site.

City inspectors ordered the building closed in November 1994 for code
violations. There were missing doors and windows, damaged floors and a
faulty cooking stove. The city took Sgt. Campbell to Housing Court to
rectify the  issues, and he defaulted on the violations, according to
this newspapera's  archives.

Residents of the home had faced criminal charges including  assault
and battery, breaking and entering, carrying a dangerous weapon,
prostitution and possession of a syringe. Two people were stabbed
there in June  1994.
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