  The host galaxies of powerful radio sources are ideal laboratories to study
active galactic nuclei (AGN). The galaxies themselves are among the most
massive systems in the universe, and are believed to harbor supermassive black
holes (SMBH). If large galaxies are formed in a hierarchical way by multiple
merger events, radio galaxies at low redshift represent the end-products of
this process. However, it is not clear why some of these massive ellipticals
have associated radio emission, while others do not. Both are thought to
contain SMBHs, with masses proportional to the total luminous mass in the
bulge. It either implies every SMBH has recurrent radio-loud phases, and the
radio-quiet galaxies happen to be in the "low" state, or that the radio galaxy
nuclei are physically different from radio-quiet ones, i.e. by having a more
massive SMBH for a given bulge mass.
  Here we present the first results from our adaptive optics imaging and
spectroscopy pilot program on three nearby powerful radio galaxies. Initiating
a larger, more systematic AO survey of radio galaxies (preferentially with
Laser Guide Star equipped AO systems) has the potential of furthering our
understanding of the physical properties of radio sources, their triggering,
and their subsequent evolution.
