Underground Dog Fighting Exposed
Belle Vernon, PA (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jul 26, 2004
County: Fayette
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» James Jay Fricchione
» John Kelly - Alleged
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Two men who allegedly promoted pit bull fighting across the country were charged in connection with the underground dog-fighting magazine they publish, Pennsylvania authorities said.
James Jay Fricchione, 34, of Westtown, N.Y., and John "Jack" Kelly, 80, of Jefferson, Ga., are both charged for their work on the Sporting Dog Journal.
The magazine has a paid circulation of about 10,000 nationally and internationally and was allegedly run by Kelly until he sold it to Fricchione in 2001, authorities said Monday.
The charges against them grew out of a grand jury investigation that resulted in the 2002 arrests of six people on dog fighting charges in Pennsylvania.
Attorney General Jerry Pappert said the bimonthly magazine is important because it contained information on clandestine dog fights, their results and advertisements for puppies, stud services and equipment - such as treadmills and break sticks used to separate fighting dogs.
But most importantly, Pappert said, the magazine bestowed champion status on dogs. That prize was recognized by the underground dogfighting public and enabled participants to raise the stakes for wagers and puppy and stud fees.
A grand jury investigation found some people bet as much as $10,000 on a single fight and the purse for a night of fighting could be as much as $50,000, Pappert said.
"Just as the American Kennel Club bestows the title of champion on show dogs, the Sporting Dog Journal would confer the title of champion upon a pit bull that won three fights and the journal could confer the title of grand champion on a dog that won five fights," Pappert said.
Even after Kelly sold the magazine to Fricchione, Kelly remained the man who authenticated the dogs' records and conferred their lucrative championship status upon them, Pappert said.
Fricchione and Kelly are both charged with two counts each of cruelty to animals and one count each of conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals. All the counts are felonies that carry penalties of up to $15,000 and seven years in prison.
The men were to be arrested by authorities in Georgia and New York.
Case UpdatesThe man once described by a prosecutor as the Al Capone of dogfighting circles made good Friday on the six-figure debt he owed the Warwick Valley Humane Society after his 2004 conviction for animal cruelty.
James Fricchione, 39, of Westtown, came to Orange County Court with a check for $80,000. That represented the balance of $136,303 that Fricchione owed to the not-for-profit agency, according to court records.
The Humane Society boarded dogs that were seized from Fricchione in 2004, during a raid by state police. .
Fricchione once published The Sporting Dog Journal, a periodical dedicated to the underground world of dogfighting. He served about three years of a 21⁄3 to 7-year sentence. | Source: Record Online - Aug 9, 2009
Update posted on Aug 9, 2009 - 9:49PM |
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