# Worcester Police mum on probe of officer



## PBC FL Cop (Oct 22, 2003)

Saturday, May 13, 2006 *Worcester Police mum on probe of officer*

Sgt.'s wife's bar suspected of drug activity

*By Milton J. Valencia TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF*
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*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 newspaper'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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