Boston police raid first house on task force’s problem property list

July 06, 2011|By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

It is one of the most troubled properties in Boston. So bad that the mayor is pointing a shaming finger at it.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared yesterday that 102 Blue Hill Ave. in Roxbury was the first target of the new Problem Property Task Force. A collaboration of the mayor’s office and police, fire, inspectional, health, and other city departments, the task force will converge on properties that are known to harbor drug use and prostitution.

Shortly before a 2 p.m. event in front of the house yesterday, Boston police raided the building, arresting Thomas Ganzales and Angela Ganzalez, both 47, on charges of possession with intent to distribute after an investigation, police said.

According to Menino’s office, multiple criminal complaints have been received about the house since May 2010, including five for assault and battery, nine for verbal disputes, and one for witness intimidation, as well as 105 calls for police service since May 2010.

Seven other properties have already been targeted.

The task force was created by executive order. A city ordinance that would give Boston the ability to charge negligent or inattentive property owners for “the necessary monetary costs of securing their problem properties’’ will come up for a vote by the City Council on July 13.

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