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News > Victor "Buddy" Amato in the National Enquirer

Shihan Amato is not only the dojo's Shihan, he is also the Chief of Police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Below is the article that appeared in the May 12th, 2008 edition of The National Enquirer.

In a monstrous act of animal cruelty, Anthony Appolonia of NJ confessed he answered newspaper ads of pet lovers seeking someone to adopt their cats - and then butchered the poor creatures.

Appolonia, 48, admitted he killed at least 14 cats and kittens, but authorities were investigating whether the crazed cat killer tortured and killed many more innocent felines.

"This isn't something he just woke up and started doing the other day", said Victor Amato, chief of police for the Monmouth County, NJ SPCA.

Amato personally arrested Appolonia at his apartment in Aberdeen last December 21, acting on a cruelty complaint reported by a local animal rights advocate.

When confronted with suspicions about his demented behavior, Appolonia allegedly confessed to Amato that he had adopted 22 cats through newspaper advertisements over the course of 9 weeks.

Some ran away, Appolonia said, but the ones who didn't - 14 in all - met a cruel fate.

Appolonia, according to Amato, said he'd play with a cat until it hissed at him or showed some other sign of aggression. Then, Appolonia allegedly beat the cats until their bodies were a mass of bloodied broken bones.

Appolonia would then left the cats suffer for up to a day, until he finally drowned the smaller ones in his apartment's toilet and the larger ones in his bathtub, Amato said.

Appolonia was charged with one count of animal cruelty in the 4th degree, and faces up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $10,000 if convicted. But Amato said the ongoing investigation may lead to animal cruelty charges in the 3rd degree, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Currently Appolonia is behind bars and being held on $210,000 bail, the highest bail any defendant in an animal cruelty case has ever received in Monmouth County, according to Amato.

Appolonia's brutality has triggered outrage among animal rights advocates. While it was erroneously reported he'd been released from jail, 40 protesters picketed the jail.

"It's horrible," said one woman who spent 2 hours with Appolonia before allowing him to take her kitten home.