Glad you are not taking any offence - I would have...

I believe he is still under criminal investigation in the state of Indiana.

Every tenant/business/criminal got grants loans and free money or some sort of help except the landlord. 

Be aware of fences as neighbors some times take advantage of vacant lots by aggressively fencing and using the land as their own.Best practice; get permission and walk the property.

If not criminal, this is completely unethical and downright deceitful.

Plus I think it would send two signals, the first signal being to potential criminals that they are on watch the second signal to the tenants that this is a safe environment.Reminds me of a new show I watched today, Flip Men, they bough a meth property amd they took steps to clean up the property and the surrounding area by: installing a motion light, upkeeping the back alley, confronting and taking pictures of the drug dealers...sorry off track, wifi...

I am sure the rates are similar in TX.Having the attorney vet your plan and give you a memo stating why he thinks it is legal can actually help you avoid criminal prosecution for violation of securities laws.

I'm not violent in the least, but if this situation arose, I feel the criminal would have suffered from "poor victim selection" syndrome.

The owners of blighted properties are supposedly subject to criminal prosecution, but again, as far as I've observed, the City does not put a lot of energy into finding and charging the owners criminally (with one notable exception).  

We usually charge $35 for a criminal and credit check paid at application time.