Hector Garcia had doubts about the pitch from a graffiti artist, who, unbeknownst to him, had once tagged property in the Ironbound section of Newark.

Vincent Santorella promised to paint a mural on the side of Garcia's store, Station Wines & Liquors, and he guaranteed that no one would deface it because he knew the graffiti writers in the area.

Garcia didn't have anything to lose, considering the grass-roots Ironbound Community Corp. offered to pay for the work with a grant. Garcia and his aunt, Behatriz Garcia, who owns the store that he manages, welcomed the gift. They already had spent at least $1,000 to paint over graffiti tags -- a stylized signature -- on their building and it didn't solve the problem. Their wall would get marked up again, so why not give Santorella a shot?

"Let's see how much clout you have out there,'' Garcia said.

Apparently, a lot.

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Nearly two years later, no one has messed with the mural or any others that Santorella, 30, has done with the help of graffiti artists he brings to Newark from around the state and country.

Hector Garcia doesn't want to jinx the respect, but he's stunned that the wall has remained clean. The mural, which Santorella created with Dianelle Mastrion, a muralist from Brooklyn, has become a neighborhood attraction. People stop to take pictures of the colorful woman on the wall, who is looking across Hermon Street, her large face spray-painted in an array of shades to represent Newark's diverse population.

The city skyline is in the palm of her hand. Waves splash against the canvas and her fingers, a representation that Newark's ethnic culture keeps it buoyant, Santorella explains.

Across the East Ward, Santorella is confident that his "no-tag" guarantee will stick. As an incentive, Santorella assists business owners with getting a summons dismissed when a code enforcement officer mistakenly identifies his work as a graffiti tag and not a mural.

He developed a relationship with Tommy McDonald, manager of code enforcement, who said business owners should not worry when Santorella's work is on their property. That's good news for Yemi Ojikutu, who has one of Santorella's murals on his business -- Subrina's Tropical Food.

"If he (Santorella) does the work and I know about it, my team will know (not to) touch it,'' said McDonald, who thinks highly of what the artist is doing. "It (the artwork) really does stop people from tagging and doing all kinds of crazy stuff.''

The graffiti community is small. When they see a nice mural done by one of their own, it won't get vandalized, said "Emo,'' a 36-year- old artist from Rahway, who knows Santorella and has been in the graffiti game for 30 years.

"For so long we've been outcast,'' he said. "Now graffiti is slowly becoming accepted.''

Santorella's public approval started five years ago when he met Daniel J. Wiley, a former graffiti writer who grew up in the Ironbound.

As a community organizer for the Ironbound Community Corp., Wiley said he'd been getting complaints about graffiti tags from residents. Santorella, unfortunately, happened to be one of them, until Wiley convinced him to do murals.

The first one -- a painting of the late Maya Angelou -- appeared on a diner at Christie and Ferry streets. But then Santorella saw a desolate alley that had become the decadent spot for everything from illegal dumping to drug use.

With a grant from ICC, Santorella brought in dozens of artists to paint murals on the back of garages and buildings in that alley, which is known as the "Allery.'' That's when the mural idea took off. After five years, the artwork there -- at Cortland Place between Ferry and Horatio streets -- remains untouched.

"That is a perfect example of what street art can do,'' said Wiley, who is now ICC's housing justice manager. "The reduction in vandalism and graffiti on walls has gone down drastically in the neighborhood.''

People walk through the Allery with no problem and appreciate the work. Last week, Walter Kozdron Jr. was admiring a veteran-themed mural painted on the wall of the Howard F. Schwartz American Legion Post 408. Kozdron, a post member, said the mural has been there two years and no one scrawls on the fighting soldiers or the American flag draped around Uncle Sam.

Santorella's elevator speech to business owners is simple when asking to decorate their property: "Give me a chance to make it look better than it does now.''

Some agree, some don't. He does the majority of it for free, using money he's earned from other art projects. Artists who know him volunteer their time. Instead of tagging a building, Santorella said, they can showcase their talent on walls he has permission to paint.

The images they create are wide-ranging. It could be an artist's name intricately written or an array of abstract art pieces on a 300-foot-long wall that belongs to a trucking company on Paris and Magazine streets.

Last Friday, Emo, Santorella and two other artists were updating a section of the wall, painting the Homer Simpson family.

Carlos Negroni, a foreman at Truck King International, said people stop to take pictures. Some of them, he said, are artists. He can tell by the dialogue as they talk about style.

Some walls have themes, such as the Stars and Stripes patriotism at Jefferson and Thomas streets. Down the block is a hip-hop zombie theme, with a caricature on a turntable. On Margaretta Street and Avenue L, the pink wall with a menacing gorilla is about beating cancer.

"Vinny took control of the whole project of wanting to beautify the neighborhood,'' Wiley said.

For many years, however, that wasn't the case. Santorella admits to vandalizing property with his tag as an Essex County teenager. His graffiti name, "Losto" or "Get Lost a lot," was a reflection of his life in Belleville, Nutley, Bloomfield and Newark.

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He didn't want to be home whenever his parents fought or got high, he said. From ages 14 to 18, he wandered the streets with an aerosol can, staying out until 5 a.m. tagging walls. Santorella said he wised up after getting arrested. Instead of jail time, the judge gave him probation and fined him $3,500.

"I had to make a turn,'' he said.

Santorella obtained his General Educational Development diploma, then an associate's degree in business management from Hudson Community College. As he began to channel his skill into art, Santorella still dabbled with tagging as a way to market himself. He eventually let that go and landed gigs with nonprofit organizations, schools and community groups. He does logos and design work.

Now he has his own paint store to supply paint for artists, and he's working on formalizing a nonprofit, Downeck Arts Collective.

For too many years, Santorella said, he was the problem, but it's time to give back. Jokarly Fernandez, owner of Yuca Grocery, is grateful. He couldn't afford to replace his awning. Santorella painted a mural on it for free.

"Losto" doesn't "Get Lost a Lot'' anymore.

He has direction.

"Vinny is cleaning up his mess,'' Wiley said.

In a big way, too. Check him out on June 9. He's throwing a block party and has 30 artists coming to repaint the Allery with new work. ICC is doing neighborhood cleanup, too.

A block away on Ferry Street, Santorella has a new building that needs his talent that day. He says it will stay tag-free like the rest of his work.

Guaranteed.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL