[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 79 (Monday, May 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E919-E920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PAYING TRIBUTE TO LARGO, FLORIDA, POLICE CHIEF LESTER ARADI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 24, 2010

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, the people of Largo, Florida, I 
have the privilege to represent will turn out Friday to honor their 
police chief, Lester Aradi, as he retires after 9 years of leading the 
force and a 37-year law enforcement career.
  Chief Aradi has been a strong and compassionate leader who has earned 
the respect of the people he serves, the city's leaders under whom he 
works, and most importantly the men and women he leads on the Largo 
police force. Integrity and ethics are the words most often mentioned 
when people speak of Chief Aradi.
  He has had a clear impact on making Largo's streets safer. Part of 
the reason is that he did not lead from behind a desk. He was always 
out in the field.
  It was my privilege to work with Chief Aradi on a number of 
initiatives during his tenure. These include introducing new 
technologies into the police force to help make sure his officers had 
the latest equipment to do their jobs more safely and effectively. We 
also teamed up with the community on a project he spearheaded to create 
a local Silver Alert program to put out notices when senior citizens 
were reported lost or missing. Chief Aradi took the program state-wide 
and it is now a model national program.
  Chief Aradi also had a special place in his heart for the families of 
his officers. My wife Beverly and the Chief worked together on a number 
of heartrending situations involving families who faced difficult times 
related to illness, injury, and even the death of an officer with a 
young family.
  St. Petersburg Times reporter Lorri Helfand recently featured the 
life and career of Chief Aradi. Following my remarks, I would like to 
include her story for the benefit of my colleagues. Also, I will 
include an editorial from the same publication which speaks for the 
community in saying that Chief Aradi ``will be remembered and will be 
missed.''
  Madam Speaker, serving in law enforcement is a thankless job. The 
officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our homes, 
our schools and our communities. As their leader, serving 24 hours a 
day 7 days a week, Chief Aradi has been the consummate professional--
leading his force by example.
  The people of Largo will miss Chief Aradi and we all wish him and his 
wife Diane the best in their well-deserved retirement years. Thank you 
Chief for a job well done.

       [From the St. Petersburg Times, May 23, 2010]

            Thanks, Chief Arcadi, for Your Service to Largo.

       Lester Aradi left a good job in Illinois almost 10 years 
     ago to come to Pinellas County because he had read a book, 
     Who Moved My Cheese? and learned that change is good. Now, 
     he's ready for another change. On June 1, Aradi will retire 
     from his job as Largo's chief of police, and while the change 
     may be good for Aradi, it will be a real loss for Largo.
       Aradi, who lives in Clearwater, took over a police 
     department that had been scarred by scandal and disrupted by 
     having three chiefs in seven years. It desperately needed a 
     steady hand at the helm. He brought discipline, direction and 
     a closer bond between the department and the community.
       Aradi was not Largo's first choice to replace retiring 
     chief Jerry Bloechle in 2000. City officials initially 
     preferred Vail, Colo., police Chief Greg Morrison, but after 
     a visit to Vail, then-City Manager Steve Stanton cooled on 
     Morrison and instead chose Aradi, the deputy chief in Buffalo 
     Grove, Ill.
       Aradi had risen through the ranks of the Buffalo Grove 
     department for 25 years and was being groomed to take over as 
     chief there--until he read that book about cheese. Aradi was 
     familiar with the Tampa Bay area, having vacationed here 
     often and even purchased a house in Clearwater. In the Largo 
     job, he saw a challenge--a police department with a young, 
     well-educated rank and file, but problems with leadership, 
     discipline and profile in the community.
       It was a risk for Aradi. He had never even lived outside of 
     Illinois. He had never been

[[Page E920]]

     chief of a police department. And the Largo department he 
     wanted to lead had seen one chief forced out because he 
     interfered in a criminal investigation of his 15-year-old 
     son, and another chief retired after a scandal involving 
     sexual activity between Largo police officers and girls in 
     the department's Explorers post.
       But Aradi took the risk. Almost 10 years later, the 
     department and city are better for his having been here.
       Whatever people needed from Aradi, he seemed able to 
     deliver it. While his officers were careful to toe the line, 
     they also knew their chief as a man concerned about them, 
     their career advancement and their families. To the 
     community, he was warm, approachable, respectful and always 
     looking for ways to connect with them, whether it was through 
     his Coffee with the Chief series, his community walks or his 
     visits to their neighborhood meetings. Local nonprofits knew 
     him as a compassionate person who helped others, especially 
     children and the elderly.
       His bosses in City Hall were grateful because he ran a good 
     department and kept it free of scandal. Other chiefs in 
     Pinellas County admired Aradi for his eagerness to try new 
     techniques and his high ethical standards.
       Aradi admits to being tired and ready to retire to some 
     place serene, perhaps to a plot of land in the mountains 
     where he can ride horses and spend long, leisurely hours with 
     his family. It is no surprise that in making his decision to 
     leave his job, he also was thinking of the man he trained to 
     be ready to take over, Deputy Chief John Carroll. Staying 
     longer would be selfish, Aradi said, and would deny Carroll 
     an opportunity he deserves.
       So Aradi is making a change, again. But in Largo, he will 
     be remembered and he will be missed.
                                  ____


              [From the St. Petersburg Times, May 2, 2010]

 Departing Largo Police Chief Lester Aradi Leaves Legacy of Leadership

                           (By Lorri Helfand)

       After 36 years in law enforcement, police Chief Lester 
     Aradi is ready to move on.
       Aradi, 58, wants to give his second-in-command, John 
     Carroll, a chance to lead. And he wants to spend more time 
     with his wife, Diane, and family.
       If Aradi stuck around, it would be for selfish reasons, he 
     said.
       ``It would deny (Carroll) an opportunity to become police 
     chief and deny someone else an opportunity to be deputy 
     chief,'' said Aradi, who announced Wednesday he will leave at 
     the end of May.
       City Manager Mac Craig, who has lived in the community 
     since 1983, said he's never seen another police chief 
     contribute so much.
       He praised Aradi for having coffee sit-downs with 
     residents, for having a major hand in the state's Silver 
     Alert program and for working with numerous nonprofits.
       ``And he did all that while running a great department,'' 
     Craig said.
       Aradi's law enforcement career began during the Nixon 
     administration. He came to Largo in 2001, after 25 years in 
     the Buffalo Grove Police Department in Illinois, where he 
     worked his way up to deputy chief.
       As Largo's chief, he earned a reputation as a warm-hearted, 
     approachable leader.
       Joseph Stefko, who lives and works in downtown Largo, said 
     the chief attended Old Northwest neighborhood meetings and 
     was always willing to listen to his concerns.
       ``You can go right up to him and talk to him,'' Stefko 
     said.
       He credits the chief with helping clean up his 
     neighborhood.
       ``He definitely changed the crime rate,'' Stefko said. 
     ``When I lived here 15 years ago it was pretty bad.''
       But Aradi said his accessibility, coupled with his 
     responsibilities, came with some drawbacks.
       ``No matter where I am, the BlackBerry is constantly going 
     off day and night,'' Aradi said.
       Messages range from residents telling him that their cars 
     were stolen to announcements about the community garden 
     getting manure.
       Other law enforcement leaders say they've enjoyed working 
     with Aradi and consider him a friend.
       ``It's clear Lester is a man of integrity and maintains 
     high ethical standards,'' said Pinellas County Sheriff Jim 
     Coats. ``That is reflected in the staff that works underneath 
     him.''
       ``Lester's always been on the cutting edge,'' said recently 
     retired Clearwater police Chief Sid Klein. ``He's not afraid 
     to take chances. He's just a real top-notch professional.''
       When Aradi came to the department, its image had been 
     tarnished by a sexual misconduct scandal involving officers. 
     There were tensions between the former city manager and the 
     officers.
       ``I think he brought the community and the Police 
     Department closer together by being visible himself, by being 
     conscious of the officers, and by being respectful and doing 
     good customer service,'' Mayor Pat Gerard said.
       Last year, Craig ran into friction with the chief over 
     Aradi's choice to suspend, rather than fire, an officer who 
     fixed a ticket. Some have speculated that Craig's decision to 
     suspend Aradi led to his departure.
       ``I'm not surprised because of the incident a year ago 
     where he was publicly reprimanded by the manager,'' said 
     former Mayor Bob Jackson.
       But Aradi adamantly denies that.
       ``That's water so far under the bridge it's out there in 
     the Caribbean Sea,'' Aradi said.
       There were no major controversies in the department during 
     Aradi's tenure. But that's not to say that Aradi avoided 
     controversial issues.
       Three years ago, he received flak for his support of former 
     City Manager Steve Stanton's personal choice to become a 
     woman. Some called for an investigation of Aradi and all 
     officials who knew of Stanton's choice but didn't make that 
     information public.
       He tackled the issue head-on, choosing to talk about it at 
     a local Rotary meeting.
       He also took strong positions, defending his officers even 
     when his opinions clashed with city administrators.
       Last year, during budget talks, he told Craig and other 
     city leaders he couldn't agree to furloughs, which would 
     remove more officers from the streets.
       Aradi's influence also extended beyond the community.
       Last year, Aradi was recognized by the Area Agency on Aging 
     for his efforts that helped create the statewide Silver Alert 
     program.
       Aradi says he's done with law enforcement and is not sure 
     what he'll do down the road.
       ``I want to go fly-fishing again,'' Aradi said. ``I want to 
     ride my horse.''
       He's ready to live on 10 acres of land in the Blue Ridge 
     Mountains, visit his children and new grandson, and take a 
     permanent vacation from his BlackBerry.
       About a year ago, Aradi and his wife adopted a former 
     racehorse, Haggis Hanover, who had been neglected. They hope 
     to adopt one or two more and move to Tennessee, Georgia or 
     North Carolina, where one of his daughters lives.
       ``We've made good friends here,'' Aradi said. ``I'm going 
     to miss the people of this community.''
       But he'll be fine not being chief, anymore.
       ``I don't need the title,'' Aradi said. ``My family is much 
     more important.''

                          ____________________