Singleton Kin Denies Rapist Is in Tampa

Freed rapist Larry Singleton is not living in Tampa, his brother says, but word that Singleton gave authorities his brother’s address here was enough to stir up a campaign to run him out of town.

A total of $10,000 and a one-way ticket out of Florida were offered Thursday by a Bradenton car dealer and a St. Petersburg radio station if the 60-year-old former merchant seaman would pack up and leave.

Larry Singleton spent eight years of a 14-year sentence in California for raping a 15-year-old hitchhiker, chopping off her forearms with an ax and leaving her for dead in a ditch in 1978. His parole ended in April.

There was no response to the offers from Singleton, who earlier in the week had listed his brother Walter’s Tampa address with state officials. But a neighbor said he was told by Walter Singleton that his brother is living in seclusion 2 1/2 hours from Tampa.

Would Not Tell Location

The brother would not disclose the location, according to Phil Scalera, adding that Walter Singleton invited 10 neighbors in to his home to look around but they declined.

“We talked to Walter Singleton, and he was rather belligerent about it,” Scalera said. “But he said he isn’t staying there. . . . He said: ‘I can’t help it that he used my address. It’s my father’s fault that he’s my brother.’ ”

Larry Singleton, as a felon, had to register an address with the state to move to Florida, but authorities said the address did not have to be his residence.

Although law enforcement officers say Larry Singleton cannot be barred from living in Florida, businessman Tom Stimus wants Singleton to feel unwelcome.

Stimus, who has three car and truck dealerships in the area, placed a full-page ad in the Bradenton Herald on Thursday that read: “An Open Letter To Larry Singleton, Take this $5,000 and get out of Florida.”

Pay to Move Felon

He also volunteered to pay rent and utilities for six months for Singleton at a new address out-of-state.

Stimus, 49, has previously offered rewards for the assassination of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, with no takers.

Meanwhile, WQYK-FM matched Stimus’ $5,000 offer after 99% of the listeners responding to an on-air poll said they wanted Singleton to leave, station spokeswoman Diana Thomas said.

California officials seeking to place Singleton during his parole were met by community protests, and local law enforcement officials said they feared that they could not guarantee his safety.

Singleton finally served his parole time while living in a mobile home within the gates of San Quentin state prison.