was frequently quoted in the Los Angeles Times during his 10-year effort as leader of the Ivar Hawks Neighborhood Watch to reduce the high rate of violent crime in Hollywood during the 1990s. LAPD officials hailed the group as a "national model" for Neighborhood Watch and credited the group with at least 16 citizen's arrests of drug dealers. In 2001, Shea was hailed for his leadership by Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks in an LAPD press release. In addition, Shea was a leading member of the group that put Hollywood's secession on the 2001 Los Angeles city ballot, and was a candidate for the proposed city's city council whose eloquent speech to the county Board of Supervisors in support of cityhood was aired on National Public Radio. In addition, Shea ran in 2000 as a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles supporting the secession movement. Writing and acting Joe's collection of Shakespearean sonnets, "A Native Music", was published in 1989, and he appeared at the Zephyr Theater in Los Angeles for a three-week run reading a selection of them. He won the Greater Los Angeles Press Club's First Prize for the Best Internet News Story of 2000, in which he revealed the inside secrets of a pyramid scheme and was instrumental in securing seven no-contest pleas from perpetrators of the infamous multimillion-dollar "Family & Friends" fraud. Shea appeared as The Tourist in the original Brooklyn Academy of Music production of Robert Wilson's 12-hour opera, "The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin", in 1976. Notes References Beneath the Music. Los Angeles Times; 5 May 2003; B.10; Commentary; Voices: A Forum for Community Issues; Burglar Alarm Issue Whips Up an L.A. Debate; Opposing positions of two residents reflect the division in the community. Los Angeles Times; 25 January 2003; B.23; Policy Alarms Council; Members vote to reconsider police decision not to respond to unverified alarms.. Patrick McGreevy; Los Angeles Times; 15 January 2003; B.1; Los Angeles Secession Measures. Los Angeles Times; 7 November 2002; B.13; Los Angeles; Hollywood Hopefuls Split Up; Council candidates in prospective city form like-minded slates to boost their campaigns.. Nita Lelyveld and Kristina Sauerwein Times Staff Writers; Los Angeles Times; 2 November 2002; B.3; Los Angeles; Registrar Certifies Contenders. Los Angeles Times; 6 September 2002; B.4; Hollywood Tryout for Secession to Join Valley Bid on Ballot. NITA LELYVELD and PATRICK McGREEVY; Los Angeles Times; 6 June 2002;