Thomas Flaherty segued from patrolling the highways for the Seminole Indian Tribe Police Department to perfecting pizzas and other tasty Italian dishes at Mariana’s The Stinky Rose Restaurant. The former law enforcement office in Collier County for 25 years and in Citrus County before that, assumed ownership of the restaurant in the Shoppes of Citrus Hills earlier this year.

“We moved back here to be near family,” he said, with his wife Doris, an employee at Forest Ridge Elementary School. Their son, Christian, lives in Orlando. A brother, Joe Flahery, is a Citrus County Sheriff’s deputy. “I’m enjoying the challenge,” Flaherty said, referring to a whole new career in the restaurant business, but was quick to assure former customers that not much has changed on the menu and that all meals are still cooked to order.