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Article Archive > Monmouth animal cruelty charge dismissed against Tuckerton man Monmouth animal cruelty charge dismissed against Tuckerton man MARLBORO - - A Tuckerton man who faced an animal cruelty charge for driving his dog to work on his motorcycle pleaded guilty Tuesday to an unsafe driving charge. Gyula Szatmari, 56, was charged initially with transporting a dog in a cruel and inhumane manner because he was driving down a road with his dog on his BMW motorcycle, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Because he pleaded guilty to unsafe driving, we dismissed the animal cruelty charge with the stipulation that he would never do it again in Monmouth County," Amato said Tuesday. Szatmari is known in southern Ocean County for driving with his Boston terrier named Bosco on his motorcycle. Bosco would sit on a special padded platform behind the windshield that Szatmari built for the dog. But the reception in Monmouth County to Szatmari driving with his dog on his motorcycle was different. On Aug. 24, Szatmari was on his way to a construction job when he was stopped on Route 18 by Officer Ross R. Yenisey of the Marlboro police. Szatmari's attorney James M. Curran of Milltown said Szatmari paid a $150 fine for unsafe driving, a $250 surcharge and $49 in court costs for a total of $449. "I think he's going to get a behind-the-rider dog carrier in recognition of the animal control officer's concerns," Curran said Tuesday. |