SIDE STREETS: Neighbors want tattoo parlor out of there

   Modest Parker Street produced shocking headlines on June 13 when police raided Shrap Metal Tattoo and arrested six people after an eightmonth investigation into the trafficking of machine guns and drugs.

   Now, Parker Street residents want the tattoo parlor's landlord, Philip Delluomo, to finish the job police started. They want him to evict the parlor from his little commercial building at the corner of Parker and Fillmore streets, just west of Interstate 25.

   "He should do the right thing," said Rick Thurston, a 20-year resident of the working-class neighborhood. "The landlord should take action."

   This is not a case of neighbors trying to resist commercial properties in their midst. They've long lived with Delluomo's building and its succession of beauty parlors and other businesses. They accept the nearby Waffle House, motel and gas stations, and they accept the roar of four lanes of traffic blasting up Fillmore hill.

   They even embraced Shrap Metal after it moved in about five years ago.

   "We have a neighborhood block party every year," Thurston said. "We always invited the tattoo parlor owner and he used to come. He was a welcome part of the community."

   But then things at Shrap Metal began to change, neighbors said.

   People started hanging around at all hours. Cars and motorcycles came roaring in and out of the lot as neighborhood children played nearby.

   "It's a menace to the community," said neighbor Jarred New. "It's drawing an unwanted crowd, causing mayhem and putting our kids in danger."

   Others objected to the drinking and loud music in front and out back.

   "They throw cigarette butts in my yard and trash," said neighbor Ruth Wagner. "My 5-year-old son can't play in the yard because of all the foul language that comes out of their shop."

   Though things have calmed down since the bust, neighbors want Shrap Metal evicted. They don't care that its owner was not arrested. A police spokesman said more charges are possible in the case, and that's good enough for them.

   Indeed, police are sympathetic to the neighbors but say there isn't much else they can do for now.

   "At this point, the investigation won't enable us to seize the property as a result of the criminal activity going on there," said Sgt. Jim Rodgers of the Colorado Springs Police Department's narcotics bureau.

   Rodgers said he understands the neighbors' frustration, especially with Delluomo's refusal to evict the parlor.

   "In my own opinion, I think the landlord has a civic duty to make sure people who are renting from him are not committing crime in the neighborhood," Rodgers said. "Personally, I think it would be the responsible decision to kick them out."

   Delluomo, 74, said he won't evict the parlor until police provide evidence of his tenants' crimes.

   "Bring me proof," Delluomo said. "I just can't close them down without proof. I'm not going to call police to find out. It's none of my business."

   And Delluomo said he's been threatened not to evict the parlor.

   "Someone would burn the place down," Delluomo said. "I got a threat."

   Besides, he said, the tattoo parlor is one of his best tenants.

   "Those guys pay their rent on time," he said. "They are better tenants than I've had in 30 years. They have been good tenants. They don't bother me."

   Neighbors say they don't want to deny Delluomo his right to make a living. But they're all at their limit.

   "He should say: ‘You've violated my trust and violated the neighborhood's trust. You gotta go,'" Thurston said. "It's the decent thing to do." 

   Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com