 |
|
Article Archive > Prosecutor will probe cat deaths Prosecutor will probe cat deaths An investigation into the actions of an Aberdeen man charged in the deaths of 14 cats has been joined by the Monmouth County Anthony Appolonia, 48, was charged Friday by police in Aberdeen with committing animal cruelty. According to the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - the agency that first launched an investigation about Appolonia's procurement of more than 20 cats in recent months - the matter now is being probed by investigators from the prosecutor's office. "This is great news. We don't have the resources to handle something like this," said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of police for the county's SPCA. "Real justice is going to be done to this guy." First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter A. Warshaw Jr. said his office is working in conjunction with the SPCA and police on the case. Appolonia remained in the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Saturday on $105,000 bail. He confessed to playing with the kittens before either throwing or beating them to the point of injury, according to the Monmouth County SPCA. Amato said Appolonia then would drown them in a toilet bowl or bath tub. Anthony J. Iacullo, an Appolonia family attorney who will not be involved in the case, said Anthony Appolonia suffered from a history of mental illness and had become estranged from other family members. "The family feels terrible about the allegations attributed to Anthony," Iacullo said. "They hope he will get the treatment necessary to address any mental issues that exist. They wish him well and the family's prayers and concerns go out to anyone's family who lost pets or animals as a result of these allegations," he said. Amato has said authorities traced at least 22 cats to Appolonia, who is believed to have answered several newspaper advertisements seeking homes for kittens and cats. The SPCA interviewed about 20 people who dealt with Appolonia. A number of them turned out in front of the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township Saturday, prepared to protest after a rumor circulated that Appolonia had been released. Even with the suspect still in jail, nearly 30 people congregated on Waterworks Road, sharing stories about the man many came to know simply as "Tony." Those in front of the jail said they had never before met each other, but began to connect after word filtered among area cat owners that one man had received more than his share of kittens in a short period of time. Among those who began to unravel the puzzle was Alice White of Lakewood, who spent two hours with Appolonia earlier this month when he adopted a kitten named Monkey from her after seeing an ad placed in the Asbury Park Press. White says she spent at least $400 for veterinary treatment for the cat that she believed had been put in a safe home. "But it's not the money. It's the emotional investment. It's horrible," she said. White hopes Monkey - a black part-Siamese breed with an identification collar - is among the handful that Appolonia claims ran away. Other animal lovers gathered outside the jail Saturday remained in shock about the gruesome details surrounding the treatment of the cats. "We want the public to know that this guy doesn't belong on the street," said John P. Casale of Matawan, who visited Appolonia's apartment in Aberdeen several weeks ago before deciding against letting him adopt a cat. Casale was pleased to hear that members of the Prosecutor's Office had been assigned to the case and said it is a sign local authorities take charges of animal abuse seriously. "These are gifts. They aren't toys. They are God's creatures," he said. |