TRIAL TIME FOR PARAGALLO
According to Frank Angst at the Thoroughbred Times, alleged animal abuser Ernie Paragallo’s long awaited trial is to begin today. Facing a maximum of 35 years in jail and a $35,000 fine, the former New York horse owner has waived a jury trial and will plead his case directly to the judge.
Read it at the Thoroughbred Times
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think
Tags: bradford cummings, ernie paragallo, frank angst, Paulick Report, thoroughbred times
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 am
I still remember the week this story broke, seeing him sitting in an adjacent Aqueduct box seat waiting for one of his horses to run in the Woodward - with his kid! Lifetime ban from racing and some jail time is the only answer.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:17 am
As is usually the case with animal cruelty cases, unfortunately, this clown will never see the inside of a jail cell. Sickening.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:52 am
Does Paragallo still own Unbridled Song? If so, boycott breeding to Unbridled Song.
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:50 am
I’ve been googling Paragallo’s name periodically, looking for news, wondering when he would go to court, and there’s been nothing for ages. Now just this brief “the trial starts today” story. Nothing in the NY Times. It’s disheartening.
If the press were covering this like Michael Vick was covered, meaningful punishment would be more likely. The racing press, at least, should have been more on top of this story.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:39 am
I hope the judge gives him the max and that the JC follows through.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 am
The true question to this: If he is convicted, what does the Jockey Club do with his rights regarding his 50% ownership of Unbridled Song? And can they do anything?
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:59 am
Sad that animal cruelty is only a misdemeanor.
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I hope that Ernie meets Bubba. Animal cruelty laws need to be far more severe to prevent abuse and seriously punish the perps. A National Animal Cruelty Registry needs to be created to expose, track and prevent animal cruelty, based on the National Sex Offender Registry.
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I like that idea Joe!
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Link to Unbridled’s Song stallion register. Stud fee for 2010 - $100K.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/sr_sire_page.asp?refno=1392779&origin=singlesearch
He’s standing at Taylor Made Stallions, Inc. - Nicholasville, Kentucky
http://www.taylormadestallions.com/
NYTimes piece on Unbridled’s Song retirement, following a career with foot problems:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/01/sports/sad-ending-for-unbridled-s-song-s-brief-melody.html?pagewanted=1
Wonder if any of the stallion’s profits get donated to TB retirement and retraining. Every day, the racing industry has a chance to mend some PR fences.
February 23rd, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Throw the book at him, he should never be allowed to own another horse as long as he live, that is the kind of peaples that gives our game a bad name.
February 24th, 2010 at 7:10 am
NY has some of the weakest animal cruelty laws in the nation. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a $3,000 fine for the 3 horses that died, and probation. Historically, our courts barely acknowledge the larger number of horses that suffered; rarely is a punishment handed down for their suffering. There is a precedent in Ny that bans a person from owning or working with animals, but it is limited to only a few years.
FL and CA have felony animal cruelty laws. The misdemeanor charges in the remaining states will take years to change. It the meantime, starvation and cruelty is ongoing and will continue to occur.
As an industry, we have a responsibility to the TB horse. Just as we have an agency which investigates cheating and wagering irregularities, we need an arm that investigates cruelty. There is much cruelty that could be stopped but isn’t because people look the other way because there is no one who will investigate.
Our industry can permanently ban anyone involved in cruelty to a TB. That ban should be enforced on anyone involved in the ultimate cruelty — horse slaughter–the act of being eviscerated while fully concious.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:14 am
He'll get off for many reasons. The aspect of animal abuse that has been documented thoroughly, is that these kinds of people frequently have other "BIG" issues. The judge is limited by the law, but it also surprises me that they forget how essential this kind of behavior is with regard to other unethical or even violent behavior toward humans.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Don’t forget the head of NYTRA is for horse slaughter. He needs to be ousted. How can you be the head of a racing industry and be pro-slaughter? I just posted on the other site dealing with this story as well and if anyone heard his lawyer, you would have thrown something at your TV. He said something to the effect that they were just horses and didn’t need carrots and sugar cubes to be well taken care of. GRRRR!
The pictures of these poor animals says it all.
He wanted to keep running USong even when he knew he was sore… I use to watch him jog at Oklahoma training track and you would say to yourself as each foot hit the ground, ouch, ouch, ouch. At that time Nick Zito had him. Artax, he would instruct the trainer he wanted bullet works only, he eventually left him, another person I knew started to work for him and Erne wanted a sore horse to run and this trainer, flattly refused stating that if he ran he would break down and he for one did not want that on his conscience.
We had a case around this area where someone shot a woman’s horse. She is trying, with our ex congressman Tedisco, to change Buddy’s Law imposing stiffer fines. The animal cruelity reports around here (norther upstate NY) are horrifying, Our new Congressman, Scott Murphy does not have any stand on animal cruelity. I have wrtiten to him on several occasions and only receive a form letter as my response. I have written to our other govermental congressmen, etc… same response. Very sad indeed since child abusers usually have a history with animal cruelty as their starting point.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Here’s the same comment as I put on other story with one addition: Anne of Post No. 13, you’re so right about animal abusers being abusers of persons…
Ernie Paragallo is a pin-headed, squeaky-voiced, morally-bankrupt, puffy-faced d*ckhead. When this mess first came down, he tried to coerce his emotionally-battered girlfriend into keeping her mouth shut by paying her medical bills (hospitalization for an illness caused by the stress of the situation). Ernie hurt that woman, he hurt those horses, he hurt the Mexicans stuck at his farm and unable to feed the horses or escape, he hurt the many people who donated their hard-earned money to rehab his horses, he hurt the SPCA folks who had to witness the horror show at his farm. As I’ve said before, the best fate for Ernie Paragallo would be life on a desert island with Mike Gill. Ernie can breed land crabs and hold land crab races, and Gill can claim the crabs off Ernie. It’s perfect, really.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I just love this
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:35 am
Nice nice