Select Property Management of Tampa Bay has 50% loss in business due to online release of the arrest of its president. Dismissal of the case was not published.

Safety Harbor, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/27/2015 --Select Property Management of Tampa Bay has seen a 50% reduction in business after 15 years of steady growth. It was recently learned that this loss is directly related to the damage done to the reputation of Vincent Stona, the company's president, due to the online publication of his arrest, even though the one published case, Case # 1317030CFANO, published on August 14, 2014 by the Pinellas County Florida Criminal Court, was dropped by the Pinellas County State Attorney's Office.

This problem is not only one for Mr. Stona, it could easily happen to anyone who has been arrested unjustly. The advent of Mugshots.com and other similar arrest websites that publish public record arrests online have placed people in the difficult position of proving their innocence instead of simply denying their guilt. These websites charge thousands of dollars to have a name erased from their websites and those people who do not pay have their original arrest reports live on long after the case is dismissed and are usually judged "guilty" in the court of public opinion.

This is the story of a businessman that is losing his fine reputation earned in over 40 years in the business world. In one day his life turned upside down as an unfair arrest was made public on the internet and he was labeled a felon and drug salesman. The truth is that this could happen to anyone who gets swept up by an overly aggressive street crimes police unit with one purpose – make an arrest and then let the judicial system sort it out.

According to court documents, Vincent Stona of Pinellas County Florida was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida on October 13th 2013 for attempting to facilitate the sale of Hydromorphone, a class 3 felony (Case # 1317030CFANO Pinellas County Criminal Court). The arrest was posted on Mugshots.com and other arrest websites. On August 14th 2014, eight months after the initial arrest, charges against Mr. Stona for the sale of Hydromorphone were dismissed by the Pinellas County State Attorney for the State of Florida 15 minutes before trial. Unfortunately, the dismissal did not make the news while the news of the arrest lives on in perpetuity on the internet.

"With Google, Bing and the other major search engines all delivering only ½ of the story, my good reputation and that of my company are now damaged beyond repair." says Vincent Stona, President of Select Property Management of Tampa Bay Inc. "I will probably be forced to close a business that has had a stellar reputation since I opened it 15 years ago and have had to resign from positions on 2 non-profit boards ".

According to Stona, upon being released from jail on the following day he had a full narcotics blood screening performed by an independent testing company. No narcotics of any kind and especially those that are cocaine related were found in Mr. Stona's bloodstream. He wrote a formal letter to the St Petersburg Police Internal Affairs department requesting a full investigation and has demanded that the crack cocaine bag be tested for fingerprints and any DNA that would link him to the crack cocaine found in the patrol car.

Because Mr. Stona's arrest was distributed nationally on Google and all major search engines, Mr. Stona has decided to release this information in hopes of not being found guilty in a court of public opinion while he is forced to take the path of a long legal battle that is almost certain to drag on for many years. Mr. Stona is committed to clearing his good name and is hopeful that this added information will go a long way in achieving that goal.

If other people have had similar problems with the St. Petersburg police Street Crimes Unit's aggressive police tactics please contact Vincent Stona through his email address at vs1111@verizon.net.

About Vincent Stona
Vincent Stona is the son of a retired police Captain and has earned three college degrees. His 20 year career in the advertising industry culminated with the position of senior partner in an advertising agency

The last 15 years of his business career were spent in the real estate industry, investing in single family homes and small apartment buildings. Recently Vincent entered the hotel industry and was instrumental in turning a run-down motel into an award winning boutique lodging on Clearwater Beach.