Article Archive > Advocate for 'voiceless victims' is honored in D.C.

Advocate for 'voiceless victims' is honored in D.C.

The chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) was honored in Washington, D.C., last week for his continued dedication to what he calls the "voiceless victims" of senseless violence.

Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief humane law enforcement officer for the MCSPCA, was one of five law enforcement officials honored on Sept. 26 by the National Humane Society of the United States for their efforts to protect animals across the nation.

"It's the highest honor that I can get in the country," Amato said last week. "There is no higher honor for what I do. Actually, I'm overwhelmed with it. The good thing about the honor is I feel like I'm making a difference and it's recognized nationally."

As the chief of police for the MCSPCA, Amato is responsible for investigating hundreds of cases of animal abuse throughout Monmouth County each month.

"I do all patrol duties, I do all the court appearances, I prepare all of the discovery packages, I do 95 percent of all of the investigations," Amato explained. "I have volunteers that are not paid lawenforcement officers, but I'm the only paid law enforcement officer in the entire county that does this and so, therefore, do the bulk of the work. I'll take an investigation right from the beginning and take it to the end," he added.

Amato began his career in law enforcement some 20 years ago as a special officer with the Middletown Police Department. Following his time in Middletown, Amato moved on to serve as a Department of Defense officer stationed at both Naval Air Station Lakehurst and Fort Monmouth before being hired by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He has worked with the MCSPCA since 2004.

A member of the Monmouth County, New Jersey and International chiefs' associations, Amato said he has an excellent relationship with various police departments throughout the region.

"What happens is, because of my rapport with them, when they get calls, if it's anything that has to do with animal cruelty they patch it right over to me. I get phone calls from the state police, from the prosecutor's office, you name it, they all have my number," Amato said, adding that he also receives calls from the MCSPCA's animal cruelty hotline.

While proud of his achievements, Amato said a large part of his success is due to the efforts of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

"I go out and make the arrests, but that's just the beginning of the case. It's got to be prosecuted, and it's got to be put together properly and packaged properly to present to a grand jury and to go to the Superior Court level," he explained.

According to Amato, it was the help of the prosecutor's office that led to the conviction of Aberdeen resident Anthony Appolonia on charges that he systematically adopted and killed cats from throughout the Monmouth and Ocean County areas.

"In that case, I did all the investigation. I did all the legwork, I made the arrest, I got the confession and all that-basically, all the police work. But the prosecution end of it really made the difference when you talk about it's the first time in state history that someone got five years for animal cruelty," Amato said. "That's unheard of.

"And that credit goes to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, namely Nicole Colucci. She's the one who prosecuted that case on my behalf. She's also my liaison with the prosecutor's office," Amato said.

"People like that don't get the credit. These are the people behind the scenes. I get the credit and all that, but that's only half of the job," he said.

"Me going out doing the investigation, getting the leads, tracking the dirtbags down, getting them to confess - that's great, but that's only part of the job."

It was the Appolonia case, which grabbed national headlines, that Amato credits as one of the reasons for his being honored.

"In the beginning I really didn't know what I was getting involved in," Amato said, adding that he was receiving tips from people who were concerned about the number of cats that Appolonia was adopting through newspaper advertisements.

"What happened was red flags were sent up because a lot of these people, these cat people, they [talked] with one another and said, 'Listen, I just had the same guy adopt a cat from me,' same description," Amato explained.

"One of the people went over to [Appolonia's] house, concerned to see how the cat was doing, and the guy had no cats. There were no cats in his house. And this person knew that this guy had been adopting cats all over the tricounty area," Amato said.

After interviewing several people from whom Appolonia had adopted cats, Amato said he learned that Appolonia was on probation, and he set up a meeting with Appolonia and his probation officers.

"I told him, 'Look, I know you're lying Just lying to a law enforcement officer is a violation of your parole, and your probation officer is right here, so you better tell me the truth right now, because you are already violating your parole because I know you are lying to me,'and he basically just came clean after I Mirandized him," Amato said.

"He broke down, started crying, said, 'You're right, this is what I've been doing,' " Amato explained.

Although the Appolonia case drew a great deal of attention, Amato said there are several other cases he has worked on that were important to him, including the case of an elementary school teacher who was torturing his neighbor's dogs, as well as the discovery of one of the largest cock fighting rings in state history.

More recently, Amato has been involved in the investigation into a pit bull found wandering the streets of Ocean Township late last month.

The dog, which was turned over to the MCSPCA and has since been named Lazarus, was reportedly used as what is known as a bait dog, or a dog that is used to train fighting dogs.

When found, the dog's teeth had been filed down and his body was covered in deep wounds. According to officials with the MCSPCA, the dog's teeth were filed down to prevent him from defending himself.

It is cases like those of Lazarus that Amato said drive him.

"I'm representing the voiceless victims," Amato said. "I feel like I'm making a difference.

"An animal can't pick up the phone and dial 911. I'm their voice. I'm the one that goes to court and represents them. Without me, there is nobody to represent them. I mean, they're just victims, voiceless victims," Amato said.

"Cowards do this to animals, and cowards torture animals to death because [the animals] can't dial 911, they can't call for help, they can't testify on their own behalf. So, only a coward goes after something like that, an easy mark. So, I kind of prevent that," Amato said.

[ Return to top ]