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Case #12288 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
22 neglected pit bulls seized
Vineland, NJ (US)Incident Date: Friday, Sep 14, 2007
County: Cumberland
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Richard Cotto
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Authorities seized more than 20 pit bulls and pit bull mixed-breeds, from the home of a South Jersey police officer Friday.
Animal cruelty investigators said they were sickened by the condition of the dogs in Vineland, Cumberland County.
It's not the first time Vineland Police Officer Richard Cotto has been suspected of animal neglect. But now he faces an even more serious suspension or possibly termination."
The dogs were being cared for at the Cumberland County SPCA.
"I take care of my dogs," Cotto said.
But Cumberland County animal cruelty investigators said they found that hard to believe.
"They're in bad shape," said Bev Greco, of the Cumberland County SPCA.
On September 14, authorities reportedly seized 22 pit bulls or pit bull mixes from Cotto's property, after getting a report that one was running loose. Fifteen were puppies, some less than a week old, and investigators said several of the dogs are severely underweight.
"I'm sickened by the condition they are in. It's exacerbated by the fact that this is not the first time," Greco said.
Authorities said the two-year Vineland police veteran, who breeds pit bulls, has been convicted three times since 1999 on animal neglect charges, paying thousands of dollars in fines.
He now faces more neglect charges. Investigators said he's also violated a recent court order, barring him from having more than five dogs.
"He's making a mockery of the judicial system and it's a black eye for the Vineland Police Department, and they don't deserve that," Greco said.
Vineland's police chief said he faces an even more serious suspension or possibly termination.
"How many times do these animals have to suffer?" Greco said. "Once again, this should never have happened. This has to end."
If convicted, Cotto faces thousands of dollars in fines. The animals, meanwhile, are in need of foster families and people to adopt them. If you can help, call the SPCA at 856-691-1500.
Case UpdatesHe was accused of having close to 30 dogs on his property, but for Richard Cotto, the city police officer whose animal-neglect case was heard Wednesday, it all came down to one.
A tan pitbull puppy was the first dog listed as neglected on his complaint sheet.
So when Cotto whispered to his attorney during the middle of the hearing that he would accept a resolution plea deal - just as the presiding judge was asking the prosecutor to call his first witness - the four-month case was brought to a close with reduced charges and Cotto pleaded guilty to one count of animal neglect.
But City Prosecutor Alfred Verderose issued a condition on the deal: Cotto had to give up his job before he left the courtroom.
As soon as Cotto's attorney, Daniel Replogle, announced that his client would accept a resolution, Verderose said: "He will also resign from the Vineland Police Department effective immediately. I have the forms here and he will sign them before he leaves the building."
The public stripping of an officer's badge during a court case was made more remarkable by the fact that an animal-neglect case came to trial, according to Bev Greco, executive director of the Cumberland County SPCA.
She testified during the sentencing hearing before Judge David Krell that the SPCA's officers had visited Cotto's Brewster Road property 20 times since 1999.
"Only once did he not have violations," she said.
Cotto, who told officers that he was breeding pitbulls on the site, had three previous convictions for animal mistreatment.
When SPCA staff came to the house last September, Greco said they found dogs stashed in plastic barrels, and they were starving or were infested with parasites. Cotto had initially been charged with five counts of neglect, and of running an illegal kennel.
As part of his plea, Cotto agreed to pay a $250 fine and restitution funds to the city totaling $3,884.
Greco called the restitution funds "a drop in the bucket."
"This investigation cost us thousands," she said. "But we feel satisfied we have addressed the main concerns of the case."
As the details of the deal were read, Diane Starn, one of the city's animal-control officers, put her head in her hands.
Greco said she thought that was an indication of relief. "Because she had been dealing with this property year after year," she said.
Greco said she would file for forfeiture of the remaining four animals on the property. "My main concern is that he not be able to own animals in the county," she said.
Cotto and his attorney said they would not comment. In court, Cotto told the judge he would have trouble meeting the payment of fines once he lost his job.
Police Lt. Robert Romano, head of internal affairs at the Vineland Police Department, said that with the resignation, Cotto would not face a planned civil service hearing.
"Had he gone through a hearing and been fired, he would not have been able to work as a police officer elsewhere in the state," he explained.
Cotto's resignation papers, which had been served shortly after the seizing of the dogs in September, were handed to Romano as the defendant and his attorney left the court. His badge had been waiting for him back at the department were he to return from an extended leave of absence, said Romano. But today's proceedings put an end to that possibility, he added. "He hasn't got his badge any more." | Source: Press of Atlantic City - Jan 10, 2008
Update posted on Jan 10, 2008 - 4:51PM |
For a Vineland police officer whose home was cited by animal officials as an illegal pit-bull kennel, a trial date looms and questions persist about his future.
Richard Cotto, a police officer of two years' standing at the Vineland Police Department, appeared before a judge Wednesday in Fairfield Township to hear five charges of animal neglect and one of running an illegal dog-kennel operation.
Cumberland County animal-control agents attest that they discovered 29 dogs, some kept in plastic barrels, sick or underfed, when they visited his home in September.
By law, an owner without a license can only own five dogs.
Cotto, whose property is on Brewster Road in Vineland, came to Fairfield Township so that Judge David Krell could continue to hear a case that has developed since June, and he did not speak during the hearing.
Dressed in a black zippered coat, tan pants and heavy shoes to withstand the snow, Cotto stood before the bench and listened as his lawyer, Daniel Replogle, argued with Alfred Verderose, prosecutor for the city of Vineland, over when and how many charges would be heard.
Krell set a tentative court date for Jan. 9 in Vineland, where Cotto will face five counts of animal neglect, plus a further charge of failing to gain a license to run a dog kennel. The trial will go ahead, Verderose said, unless Cotto decides to accept a plea bargain.
An earlier plea bargain before the hearing was not reached, Replogle told the judge. "We're just too far apart."
The complaints of animal neglect were signed by the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose agents discovered the dogs on Cotto's property after investigating another dog's escape. Verderose said those complaints rose to the level of disorderly-person offenses, with possible jail time and fines if Cotto is found guilty.
A second charge of breaking an ordinance by setting up a kennel, which had been put aside, may be brought back, Krell added.
Cotto said after the hearing that he was not allowed to comment. Replogle also refused to comment.
Bev Greco, executive director of the Cumberland County SPCA, was at the hearing and pointed to Cotto's three previous convictions for similar offenses against animals from as far back as 1999.
"It's actually not that uncommon to have repeater cases," she said. "Just not to this great extent." She said 14 puppies found on the property had been adopted. "But other dogs he had were just too aggressive" to find owners, she added, and had to be euthanized.
Beyond the trial, Cotto also faces a possible end to his law-enforcement career. He was served with termination papers by the Vineland Police Department on Sept. 20.
But Lt. Robert Romano, head of the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit, said that he had been waiting for two months to hear whether Cotto – currently on unpaid leave - would choose to resign, take termination or head to a departmental hearing.
Now that a trial date has been set, Romano said he felt comfortable setting a departmental hearing for the week following the court date.
"If he is convicted at a departmental hearing," Romano said, "he will not be eligible to work for law enforcement in the state of New Jersey again." | Source: Press of Atlantic City - Dec 6, 2007
Update posted on Dec 6, 2007 - 12:27PM |
A municipal court hearing for a Vineland police officer charged with animal neglect has been postponed.
Richard Cotto was set to appear before Judge David Krell in Fairfield Municipal Court on Wednesday afternoon to answer charges filed against him by the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The hearing has been postponed until Dec. 5, according to Vineland Municipal Court, where the charges were initially filed.
Cotto's attorney, Stuart J. Alterman, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Vineland Police Lt. Robert Romano, the department's internal affairs officer, declined comment on the postponement.
Krell is set to decide whether Cotto violated a court order by having too many dogs on his South Brewster Road property.
On Sept. 17, the SPCA signed complaints against Cotto, charging him with five counts of failure to provide proper veterinary care for dogs on his property.
SPCA investigators found 29 dogs on Cotto's property.
It was the fourth time in eight years the SPCA has charged Cotto with failing to care for his dogs.
In June, Cotto, who breeds and sells pit bulls, pleaded guilty in Vineland Municipal Court to a civil charge of animal neglect.
During that hearing, Krell fined Cotto $500 and ordered the officer to reduce the number of dogs on his property to a maximum of five.
Krell is hearing the current charges because he heard the prior complaints against Cotto in June.
On Sept. 20, the police department served Cotto with a notice of termination.
No date for a departmental hearing has been set, Romano said previously. But, he said, the court hearing's outcome could determine how the department proceeds. | Source: The Daily Journal - Nov 22, 2007
Update posted on Nov 27, 2007 - 4:54AM |
City police officer Richard Cotto, who has been charged several times for failing to provide proper care for the pit bulls he keeps at his residence on South Brewster Road, has been served with notice of termination papers.
The papers were delivered on Sept. 20.
Chief Timothy Codispoti said Cotto, who remains on duty, will have roughly 10 days to respond to the notice.
"(In response to the notice), he has two choices," Codispoti explained. "One, he can request a hearing in front of a hearing officer, or two, he can resign."
The decision to release Cotto was made after he was charged Sept. 17 with five counts of failing to provide veterinary care for several dogs, the chief said.
"The infractions had reached the level where (termination) was the discipline that was appropriate," he remarked.
The Sept. 17 incident was the fourth time Cotto has faced animal neglect charges in connection with the pit bulls he keeps on his property, SPCA Director Bev Greco said previously.
On this occasion, 29 pit bulls were found at the officer¹s home, including 15 puppies and 14 adults.
An adult and three puppies were "emaciated," and another adult had "skin issues," as well as open wounds on its ears, according to Greco.
Local ordinance allows only five dogs on a property without a kennel license.
Cotto had previously been ordered to reduce the number of animals at his home.
The officer also had been given a "major suspension" without pay in late June after he pled guilty to charges of failing to provide animals with food, water and shelter. The court fined him $500.
Before that, Cotto was placed on unpaid suspension in December 2006, when he was fined $500 for failing to provide shelter and sustenance.
In November 1999, the officer was fined $250 for failing to provide proper shelter for his pit bulls.
According to Greco, Cotto keeps the dogs at his home for breeding purposes. | Source: NJ.Com - Oct 1, 2007
Update posted on Oct 1, 2007 - 11:39PM |
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