Graffitti at West Tennis Court Could Cost Thousands to Clean Up

Recent vandalism at Cranston High School West caused by a group of teens caught after a major crime spree last week is already mostly cleaned up, said Parks and Recreation Director Tony Liberatore.

But one batch of graffiti that was sprayed on the tennis courts, a brazen "East Rules" message in dark paint, hasn't been removed and could cost upwards of $1,500 to repair.

That means for the time being, players at West will have to keep playing with the taunting message under their feet.

"If we go in there and try to do graffiti removal, we may run into an issue where we start taking some of the surface of the court off," Liberatore said. "It's a lot more complicated than just removing the graffiti."

Liberatore is still not done counting up the total amount of damage costs from the Oct. 19 incident during which Kevin Wulff, 18; Paul Hallam, 18; Jason Brissette, 18; and a juvenile, allegedly vandalized the court in addition to signs, posts and buildings.

So far, cleaning the signs and other areas has cost the city $400. The cost to fix the tennis court will only be tallied after a company that specializes in painting tennis courts comes in and does their work.

Liberatore will submit a restitution form to the Cranston Police Department, so the city could recoup some of the losses if the three men and the juvenile are convicted.

Principal Thomas Barbieri said while the vandalism is troubling, it's an opportunity for students in Cranston to learn an important lesson.

"I talk about respect consistently and I always say to students you want to demonstrate to the community what the word respect means," Barbieri said.

Though the destruction was disrespectful, he urged no retaliation.

"You don't need to drop and stoop to their level — bring them to your level," Barbieri said. "If you look around the world today, there are people who have been fighting each other for 1,000 years and they don't even know what they're fighting about. That's what retaliation does."

Sure, the perpetrators of the crime are at fault and failed in their responsibility to respect their community, but we can learn from what they did, Barbieri said.

"When people are busy, they don't do these kinds of things," he said. "You have to keep busy."

And keeping busy is something Liberatore and the entire Parks and Recreation Department is used to. 

"The only reason this graffiti has publicity is because of [the teens] breaking into cars," Liberatore said. "The fact is we're fighting graffiti every day whether it's playgrounds or basketball courts. It's all over the place."

The prevalence of graffiti has diminished in recent years, but it is far from going away, Liberatore said.

As far as the suspected culprits, the vandalism charges are just the tip of the iceberg.

Police said they engaged in a crime spree that included the thefts of thousands worth of personal items from more than 30 cars in the Brookfield Plat and in Oaklawn — areas that have been consistently targeted by thieves in recent weeks. In many instances, wheels have been plucked from cars parked outside apartment and condo complexes, leaving owners to find their rides on blocks in the morning.

For more details, check out: 3 Teens, 1 Juvenile Busted after Larceny and Vandalism Spree