var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hoarding - Warren, MA (US)
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Hoarding
Warren, MA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 31, 2005
County: Worcester

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Ermelinda F. Fortunato

It may cost local taxpayers $15,000 to $40,000 to clean up a condemned house at 379 Bemis Road.

"It was unbelievable," Board of Health member Robert K. Downing said of unsanitary conditions he found there. "It was an animal house," he said. "They (animals) had been abandoned there and they had the run of this house for God only knows how long."

"There was animal feces all over with maggots that were literally crawling up the walls ... and falling from the ceiling," he said.

The ranch-style house, built in 1987, belongs to Ermelinda F. Fortunato of 140 Kirkland Ave. in Ludlow, according to Mr. Downing. She previously made promises in housing court to clean up the mess, but has not, he said.

He did not know how frequently or when Ms. Fortunato had lived in the house on Bemis Road.

Selectman David A. Delanski said at the selectmen's meeting Tuesday that "$15,000 to $40,000 is a lot of money, but you know it's going to cost more if we don't fix it."

The request for the funds will come at a special town meeting Oct. 25. Mr. Downing plans to get a firm cost estimate before that time.

A specialist has to do the work, but the town will not suffer a financial loss, he said. "Either the owner ultimately pays for the (cleanup) job or the house becomes the town's property," according to Mr. Downing.

The property has an assessed value of $146,300, according to a spokeswoman for the Board of Assessors.

Ms. Fortunato, who bought the Warren house in July 2001, also faces a cruelty to animals complaint in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield as the result of cats reportedly found in poor condition in the same home late last year.

An officer of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the cruelty case filed against Ms. Fortunato has been continued on at least four occasions in the local court.

The homeowner is due back in court Nov. 20.

Attempts this week to contact her by telephone were unsuccessful.

The reported unkempt and unsanitary environment inside and outside the Bemis Road residence was first brought to light in late 2004 when neighbors complained of unattended animals in the house, Mr. Downing said.

A year later, he said, police were called to the house when neighbors raised concerns of possible animal abuse there.

Following an investigation, Ms. Fortunato was accused of animal cruelty by the MSPCA, and the town Board of Health condemned the property.

References

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