Arrests made in St. Pete Beach’s mothball mystery

Plaza Beach Hotel owner Rob Czyszczon, who has been a prominent participant in St. Pete Beach’s recent debate over private beach property rights, was arrested Wednesday as part of a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into an incident in which hundreds of toxic mothballs were scattered across the beach during black skimmer nesting season.

Czyszczon and Chris Monroe, owner and manager of neighboring Chris’ Beachside Bar – both are longtime Gulf Boulevard businesses – each face one felony count of commercial littering for economic gain and one misdemeanor count of attempting to take a state-listed threatened species through harassment, according to FWC.

The arrests stem from an investigation that drew widespread public attention after approximately 1,000 mothballs were discovered April 20 scattered across a nesting area behind Plaza Beach Hotel. Black skimmers, state-listed threatened shorebirds, nest directly on Florida’s beaches, where their eggs and chicks are especially vulnerable to disturbance. 

Czyszczon

According to FWC, officers returned the following day after another 500 mothballs were found in the same area. Audubon volunteers helped remove the mothballs from the beach as the incident prompted extensive local news coverage, public appeals for information and reward offers as investigators searched for those responsible.

Investigators said evidence collected during the investigation led them to conclude the birds were the intended target.

Monroe

“We believe the mothballs were an attempt to deter the skimmers from nesting behind the Plaza Beach Hotel,” Southwest Regional Commander Evan Laskowski said during a Wednesday news conference.

According to FWC, investigators used surveillance footage, Walmart purchase records, cellphone location data and text messages to identify Czyszczon. Investigators allege Monroe was identified through text messages and cellphone records that placed him on the beach on both nights before the mothballs were discovered.

Captain David DeLaRosa said investigators executed multiple search warrants and reviewed terabytes of digital evidence before making the arrests.

“We brought a case that we felt we could actually stand on,” DeLaRosa said.

Czyszczon has also been a regular presence at St. Pete Beach City Commission meetings this year, where he opposed the city’s efforts to regulate “Private Property” and “No Trespassing” signs on the beach. He argued the signs were necessary to identify private property, protect hotel guests and support trespassing enforcement.

The City Commission approved a new beach sign ordinance in June restricting permanent signs, stakes and poles within 50 feet of the Gulf while allowing removable A-frame signs in designated areas.

Earlier this month, Plaza Beach Motel and Undertow Beach Bar filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ordinance. The lawsuit alleges the city’s restrictions violate the businesses’ First Amendment rights and interfere with their ability to identify private property and enforce trespassing laws.

That civil lawsuit is separate from the criminal case announced Wednesday.

During Wednesday’s news conference, FWC officials said disturbing nesting colonies can delay breeding, force birds to relocate and reduce nesting success. More than 10% of Florida’s black skimmer population nests in Pinellas County.

According to FWC, the investigation also uncovered text messages that investigators said reflected concern that nesting black skimmers were costing the businesses revenue.

Following the arrests, the City of St. Pete Beach issued a statement thanking FWC for its investigation.

“The City of St. Pete Beach has zero tolerance for criminal activity in our community, particularly conduct that has any potential to threaten the health and safety of our residents and visitors or harm our wildlife and natural environment,” the statement said.