HomeNewsBustleton resident cited for animal cruelty

Bustleton resident cited for animal cruelty

An elderly Bustleton resident rescued from his trash-packed and vermin-infested Bickley Street home in July was cited for cruelty to animals Dec. 5.

Five dead cats and six live ones were found in the house, according to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which issued 10 animal cruelty citations to Richard Garofalo on Dec. 5., spokeswoman Linda Torelli told the Northeast Times last week.

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The citations were specifically for lack of vet care and unsanitary conditions, Torelli stated.

Each citation could mean a maximum fine of $7,500 and up to 90 days in jail as well as a 90- day prohibition of having animals, she said. The 74-year-old man was not arrested, she added.

On July 7, Garofalo was rescued from the house on the 9100 block of Bickley, a small street near Welsh Road and the Boulevard.

The man had called for help after falling in his longtime home, but family members couldn’t get in and called authorities. It is when rescuers entered the home that dead and live animals were found as well as animal feces, trash, fleas, mice, rats, spiders and bats. The PSPCA was called in to find and shelter any live animals.

In July, the PSCPA reported that there was not one place that wasn’t covered with feces.

Last month, Torelli said Garofalo was hospitalized since he was taken from his house and was only recently released. She said then that PSCPA investigators were continuing to look at the case.

The city will clean out the house and then seek a court order to demolish it. ••

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