Pet store abandoned, 245 animals - 150 dead
Mount Vernon, NY (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Feb 29, 2004
County: Westchester
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Glen M Scuderi
» Louis Cloidt
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Authorities in New York made a gruesome discovery when they responded to neighborhood complaints about an abandoned pet shop. Inside New York Reptile Depot in Mount Vernon, police found hundreds of animals left to die. More than 150 were already dead of dehydration and starvation, their bodies in many cases being consumed by the survivors. The victims included rodents, snakes and lizards.
The animals had been abandoned after the landlord, Glen Scuderi, padlocked the door because of a financial dispute with the store's owners.
Several days after the pet shop was raided, authorities made another discovery: Nearly 300 animals had been removed from the store before it was locked up. They were moved to a garage - where they were also left to slowly die. These animals, moved by the shop's proprietors because they were thought to be more valuable, included ball pythons, an anaconda and a savannah monitor.
Misdemeanor animal cruelty charges have been brought against Scuderi and the store's owners. A trial date has been set for April 15.
Case UpdatesAn animal neglect case in Mount Vernon that involves the death of about 200 creatures has prompted legislation that would stiffen the penalties for people who cause animals to suffer.
Under current law, it is a misdemeanor to withhold food and drink from an animal. The proposal would make it a felony if 10 or more animals are involved.
In addition, the proposal would broaden the existing aggravated-cruelty charge to include reckless and intentional behavior.
The changes would make the law "more reflective of the injury and the harm that is occurring to animals," said Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who called for the revisions when the Mount Vernon case arose.
State Sen. Nicholas Spano, a Republican like Pirro, and state Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Democrat, said at a news conference with Pirro that they would introduce bills by next year.
Last month, police in Mount Vernon found 150 animals dead from starvation and extreme heat in filthy conditions at the New York Reptile Depot, a pet shop warehouse. The animals had been left without food and water for a week after the landlord padlocked the building in a rent dispute, police said.
One survivor, a guinea pig named Gwenie that had weighed 5 ounces when rescued, was displayed, apparently healthy, at the news conference.
On Aug. 13, police found 245 animals that had been moved from the warehouse to a residential garage. Dozens of the animals were dead.
Five men have been charged with animal cruelty. Because their alleged crime does not amount to intentional cruelty and because the large number of animals does not affect the charge, the men each would face a maximum of six months in jail if convicted, Pirro said.
The new bill would raise that to two years in prison in future cases.
Louis Cloidt, 26, of Yonkers, one of four co-owners of the New York Reptile Depot, turned himself in Aug. 11. At his arraignment, his lawyer, Andrew Quinn, said Cloidt "may have exercised bad judgment." | Source: NY Newsday - September 18, 2003
Update posted on Nov 3, 2005 - 8:25AM |
Three men have surrendered and two more are being sought in the death of more than 150 animals left to starve -or eat each other - inside a padlocked pet shop.
Louis Cloidt, 26, of Yonkers, one of four co-owners of the New York Reptile Depot in Mount Vernon, turned himself in on Monday and was charged
with animal cruelty. | Source: NY Newsday - Aug 2003
Update posted on Nov 3, 2005 - 8:24AM |
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