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.