TAMPA — Three unlicensed contractors have been arrested by a new undercover officer who targets the interpretation industry, Tampa police said today. The department created the position with funding from the interpretation permitting fees.

David Pacheco, Luther Turner and Rene Crespo were all invited to an office by investigators to possibly get a contracting job, said Capt. Brett Bartlett of the Tampa Police Criminal Intelligence Unit.

Each man was told of a job and when they named their prices they were arrested for contracting without a license, he added.

Pacheco, 42, or 4529 Brayra Road, was targeted considering he was circulating fliers without a contractor number on it, which is against the law, Bartlett said.

"It was like saying please arrest me considering whether you don’t put a contractor number on your fliers it’s considering you don’t have one,"  he explained.

Turner, 65, of 3130 W Lambright Ave., has been charged previously with contracting without a license.

And Crespo, 46, of

4002 S Manhattan Ave., is plus being investigated in another case involving unlicensed interpretation.

For years, two former police investigators worked together to catch unlicensed contractors in the middle of their scams.

But considering they were no longer officers, they couldn’t form arrests which tied up their cases in paperwork until an officer was available.

When Detective Jeanette Hevel joined the unit in June, arrests could be made immediately and they’ve busted 12 contractors since next.

"It’s critical work considering a lot of the society who get scammed by these guys are seniors who pay $10,000 to $20,000 and they just don’t have that kind of money to lose," Bartlett said.

To protect against unlicensed contractors, Bartlett suggests asking for full name, company name and contractor number. Check www.myfloridalicense.com or shout the City of Tampa interpretation Services at (813) 274-3100 to verify the data you’ve been given.

– Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writer