One Cincinnati landlord is so exasperated by street crime outside his building that he’s posted a large sign announcing “Drugs & Sex For Sale 24/7.”
John Wallen says most tenants have fled his apartment building because of drug-dealing and prostitution on the street.
The large sign that he put up on Friday urges passers-by to call the City Council to help get the area cleaned up.
Councilwoman Roxanne Qualls says Wallen has every right to be angry. She says police should be more aggressive about cracking down on the drugs sellers and prostitutes on Wallen’s block and she promises to take the matter up with the police chief.
Wallen says police come quickly every time he calls but criminals always come back once the police drive off.
My question is; is he guilty of false advertising (saying he has drugs and sex on offer 24/7, when in actuality he has neither and the real action is happening in the street), or has he decided, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and has he turned himself out (peddling his middle-aged ass candy along with crystal meth or whatever else is hot in Ohio these days)?
Maybe he clears it up in the fine print, but come on, can you read that against the massive main message which is clearly – Sex, Drugs – They’re for sale – Any time?
“False advertising”? Who said he’s advertising? It looks like he’s pointing out a horrible fact to passersby.
If I drove by a building and I saw “For Sale” I’d assume it was for sale. Drugs & Sex For Sale 24/7. What have you got? Drugs and Sex. What are you doing with them? They’re for sale. When? 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Straight forward marketing if you ask me.
Drug dealers and prostitutes have tallied their receipts since the banner first went up, and they report that business is up nearly 70% due to Mr. Wallen’s helpful advertising. They are currently negotiating a revenue-sharing arrangement with Wallen if he will put up an electronic moving sign that lets them customize their messages, for instance to run a special sale on crack or the availability of sex with a “naughty Catholic schoolgirl.”
An unrestricted free market nearly always finds its own solution.
@Gary: ROFLMMFAO!!!
Makes sense to me. There is nothing worse than having to drive from corner to corner wondering which one has crack this week. Also there is the advantage of “bundling” (being able to get both your drugs and sex at once -price advantage?).
And they say all the good jobs have gone overseas.
He’s pointing out the wrong commodity. Obviously it’s the Police who are for sale. They only seem to care about keeping the wealthier neighborhoods crime free. So they’ve basically been bought by those of the higher income bracket. The sad part is that this isn’t some unique to Cincinnati. Pick any large city and you can easily find the zone that the police have basically abandoned. And the zone they keep the cleanest. Example, in Washington DC, the southeast quarter is the crime zone. Always has been, and probably always will be. The Northeast is the most favored quarter. Where all the lobbyists and lawyers live.
“John Wallen says most tenants have fled his apartment building”
Most but not all – he’s driving the others out so he can get the whole building for cheap!
What’s the betting he’s got a gun for every day of the year in that apartment?
Thanks Glenn E I live in the crime zone in my town and have always been amazed how the cops can keep the crime in one area. My father lives in a working class neiborhood and has virtually no crime. While live in the same kind of ecomomic zone my area is overrun with drugies and gangbangers. If you hang on the corner in dads hood the cops will show up fast to run you off. In my hood it is a “right” to hang on the corner. Go figure.
Isn’t there a concept in advertising that if
your ad is SO outragus that the common man would see it’s a joke, you are OK?
Example : I could say my 15 oz ice-cream is
as big as a mountan.
But I couldn’t say its 16 oz.
No one is going to think he is actually selling any thing.
#11, admana,
If people can believe in a “god”, they can believe anything.
#8& #10
“Obviously it’s the Police who are for sale.”
You’re wrong,it’s actually the Cincinnati City Council that is the problem. Most of the Council members do not back the police department. I said Most because a few do but get no where. Roxanne Qualls is part of the problem to even when she was mayor. When the blacks scream police abuse the City Council gives in even when the Police were right.
When the Hamilton County sheriff’s department wanted to start patrolling Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Aug. 1, 2006. They were sued by the city to try and stop it. This was because we were have record shooting in Cincinnati at the time. The Sheriff’s department didn’t have to follow the same rules that the Cincinnati Police were under. The Cincinnati police were and many still be under Federal review.
Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. doesn’t take shit off no one. I live in Green Township and have talked to Police officers. The one Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy told me we keep all the crap on their side (Cincinnati Police area) and don’t let it spread to our side. The crooks know this. He knows he’s got the backing that the Cincinnati police don’t.
The City has let the Cincinnati Police hands be tied and left hung to dry. That I feel sorry for them.
Why is this man interfering with free market commerce??? Commie!
I admire this man for standing up for justice and for admitting publicly that we truly have a problem. Our country is increasingly becoming the winner in the top of countries with the highest rate of crime and drug addicts, drug detox clinics and rehabs and all that. This should stop and a small manifesto like that can help.