{"id":12785,"date":"2012-02-13T15:43:58","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T20:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=12785"},"modified":"2012-02-13T15:43:58","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T20:43:58","slug":"detroiters-wage-quiet-war-neighborhood-drug-dealer-and-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=12785","title":{"rendered":"Detroiters Wage Quiet War Neighborhood Drug Dealer — And Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

For about a decade, residents of southwest Detroit near Woodmere Cemetery existed in an uneasy peace with the man called Mr. Pill<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Aram Alkazoff<\/strong> — known as one of the most prolific prescription drug dealers in Detroit — was slowly destroying the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Residents say that people associated with Dr. Pill<\/strong> started taking over abandoned houses in 2008, stripping them, squatting and threatening the neighbors who saw them do it.<\/p>\n

Complaints mounted, first to police, then to elected officials and community and business organizations that support southwest Detroit.<\/p>\n

In 2009, state Rep. Rashida Tlaib<\/strong>, a Democrat who represents the Woodmere-Lawndale-Springwells area, started the block club. That same year, the Southwest Detroit Business Association adapted its nuisance-abatement program for residents of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Dennis Nordmoe<\/strong>, executive director of Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, based in southwest Detroit, urged residents to get involved.<\/p>\n

Several residents, some afraid, started compiling log sheets in a process that lasted about two years. From the reports came a clear picture of the players in Dr. Pill’s<\/strong> empire — runners, buyers, even people who would provide transportation to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Dr. Pill<\/strong> going to prison and being off the streets is a victory. And the teamwork that made it possible is what sets southwest Detroit apart.<\/p>\n

“There’s strong community groups. Strong business groups. Close contact with law enforcement, and folks that are willing to speak up,” he said. Esteban Castro<\/strong> agrees, but also sees a community with no choice. Folks had to speak up, he said, to save homes they can’t always leave, and to preserve their way of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For about a decade, residents of southwest Detroit near Woodmere Cemetery existed in an uneasy peace with the man called Mr. Pill. Aram Alkazoff — known as one of the most prolific prescription drug dealers in Detroit — was slowly destroying the neighborhood. Residents say that people associated with Dr. Pill started taking over abandoned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}