ERNIE PARAGALLO TO TESTIFY IN CRUELTY TRIAL
New York owner Ernie Paragallo, whose Center Brook Farm allegedly engaged in severe abuse of its horses, will take the stand today in his own trial. According to Paul Post, he is facing up to two years in jail and $35,000 in fines after being indicted on 35 counts of animal cruelty.
Setting the stage for his defense, Paragallo’s attorney Michael Howard claims his client put others in charge of the farm and wasn’t aware of the conditions.
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think
Tags: bradford cummings, center brook farm, ernie paragallo, Michael Howard, Paul Post, Paulick Report, Troy Record
March 4th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Correct me if I am wrong, But, This scum bag actually faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, Which is 35 years in Jail and $35,000 in fines…
March 4th, 2010 at 11:47 am
$35,000 is the maximum possible in fines. Because these are misdemeanors and because of the way the NY law is structured, the maximum possible prison sentence would be 2 years.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
All states have their own laws, but it seems like there’s two basic sentencing options in most states: concurrent and consecutive.
Concurrent means you serve all the sentences at one time. Consecutive means you serve one after another after another.
In most of the animal cruelty cases I’ve seen, the sentences are almost always concurrent. Which would mean you’d serve the same amount of time whether you were convicted of one charge or 50 identical charges.
In a lot of misdemeanor cases the person will actually get probation and a fine. I’m hoping this isn’t the case here, but it could end up being that.
March 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
unfortunately, I bet there is no way this clown sees the inside of a cell, although God knows he should.
March 4th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
New York state law really needs to be changed. The laws are favoring criminals over good citizens. Laws should be just and fair so people get what they deserve. In a similar case the woman who pleaded guilty got 3 years probation. The judge cannot sentence somebody to what they deserve because the laws are made to help the criminals.
March 4th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Thehorses:
You may be right about the way the laws are written in New York, but in a lot of states the problem isn’t police, prosecutors, judges or juries – it’s how much room there is in state prisons/how much time criminals actually serve.
Especially for crimes that don’t involve the death/serious injury of a human being.
I used to live in a place (not in New York) where the county attorney actually dismissed prosecutions of methamphetamine-related state crimes, or he’d decline to charge them, and instead work with the region’s U.S. Attorney’s Office so they were charged federally.
It made the county attorney look bad (think: “this guy doesn’t prosecute drug crimes), but in actuality federal prison was the only way he was going to get meth dealers/cooks out of the county for any reasonable amount of time.
Even if the judge sentenced them to state prison, they weren’t going to stay there very long.
Which is just crazy.
March 5th, 2010 at 9:32 am
I read today the article written after Paragallo testified yesterday…there was a statement he made saying that he doesn’t believe in feeding race horses grain because it is all fat. He is a true sleaze bag…and blames it all on his farm manager who has left the country.
I hope this Judge rules in the horses’ favor and finds this scum guilty.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:01 am
Yeah, his statement about grain being all fat and that’s why he doesn’t feed it is downright scary because it’s totally untrue. If that’s what he thinks than no wonder the horses were starving. Idiot. I hope the judge hammers him.
March 10th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I was horrified to learn that Paragallo invoked the name of Joe Taylor to justify his starving of horses. As the publisher of Joe’s book, Joe Taylor’s Complete Guide to Breeding and Raising Racehorses, let me set the record straight. Mr. Taylor did advocate manipulating a mare’s weight prior to the breeding season. He states that all mares and fillies be put on a diet in October and maintained on a subsistence diet through December. On January 1 the grain ration is increased with the objective to have the mare gaining 1/4 lb. per day. The mare should be weighed often to make certain she is gaining appropriately. By controlling the mare’s weight so she is thin but gaining a quarter pound a day in the spring, we are mimicing nature and increasing chances of conception. Coupled with the Mare’s Lights Program, Joe was able to increase conception rates at both Gainsway and Taylor Made.
In no way did Mr. Taylor ever suggest starving horses. For Paragallo to exhibit starving mares in April and cite Joe Taylor’s methods is a travesty both for the mares and Mr. Taylor’s memory. Jan Meerdink