Animal rights activists and Riverhead animal shelter volunteers are asking the Suffolk County District Attorney to investigate the town's animal shelter and its embattled animal control officer, Lou Coronesi.
Calverton farmer Rex Farr, with shelter volunteers and animal rights activists standing behind him, called a press conference this afternoon outside the town's Youngs Avenue shelter to demand an investigation by Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota.
Farr distributed copies of a letter he is sending to the district attorney, asking him to initiate an investigation into the operation and management of the Riverhead Animal Shelter and in particular head animal control officer Lou Coronesi.
Farr says his pleas for the Town Board to do something about Coronesi have had no result.
"All we get is lip service," he said. "Why is this man being protected," he asked, referring to Coronesi.
Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said today he "welcomes" the district attorney's review.
"We welcome the DA's fresh set of eyes," Hegermiller said.
Farr and others who have been involved with the town's animal shelter advisory committee or have worked as volunteers at the shelter have been demanding since January that the town remove Coronesi as animal control officer.
Coronesi has long been at odds with the volunteers, but the calls for his removal began after a shelter dog was euthanized Dec. 21. At a Town Board meeting that evening, in response to questions from animal rights activist Sue Hansen, Supervisor Sean Walter said the dog who was put down "bit a child." Walter said the dog's owner, who surrendered the dog to the shelter, stated on the intake form that the dog had no bite history.
"But the child was taken to the hospital," Walter said at the Dec. 21 board meeting. "The hospital contacted health department. The health department contacted former owner and the shelter. The animal was taken to the vet. The vet said the animal was dangerous. The ACO said the animal was dangerous. The animal was euthanized," Walter said. "We followed the policy to the letter."
However the health department report, which was obtained by RiverheadLOCAL, indicates the dog bit his 22-year-old owner as the owner was attempting to break up a fight between him and another dog. The owner suffered three "superficial lacerations" to his hand, according to the report.
Farr says he believes Coronesi misrepresented the facts to the supervisor. "That dog was killed illegally," he said.
"Why is he still working for the town? He has broken the law," Farr said, pointing to Coronesi's 2003 arrest and subsequent "no contest" plea to misdemeanor charges of hunting without a license, unlawful possession of wildlife and unlawful possession of restricted wildlife in the state of Arizona.
Animal rights activist Gail Waller of Glen Cove spoke publicly about Coronesi's criminal record at the Jan. 5 Town Board meeting, over the supervisor's objections to discussing "a personnel matter" in an open meeting.
After the January meeting, both Walter and Hegermiller, who is Coronesi's direct supervisor, expressed their support for the ACO.
The chief acknowledged that he has long known about Coronesi's record in Arizona. "Everything is cleared up. I fully trust his ability to deal with animals, especially dogs," Hegermiller said.
"Lou has my support 100 percent," Walter said in an interview following the Jan. 5 meeting. "He did something stupid. He paid his fine. It is over. It was over in 2003," Walter said.
But it wasn't over for the animal rights activists. Waller obtained veterinary records through a Freedom of Information Law request and questioned why the town was paying a local veterinarian, according to the records she obtained, to treat cats — which the shelter doesn't take — and in one instance, even a goat. She delivered a three-inch-thick stack of veterinary records to Town Board animal shelter liaison Councilman James Wooten, asking him to initiate an investigation.
Instead, nothing happened, Waller said.
The last straw came for Waller when she learned of a dog whose legs were mangled when he was dragged by a car. The dog's legs were bandaged and he was given antibiotics but no pain medication. Waller adopted the dog and brought it to her own veterinarian, who performed surgery and put the dog on pain killers. Waller said she's "disgusted" with Riverhead and won't continue to support animal care and rescue efforts with monetary donations, as she has in the past.
Wooten says he has "lost faith" in Coronesi. Wooten has called for the appointment of an animal shelter director to oversee operations there, and says the town can shift a current employee to the position so that the creation of the new post would be budget-neutral. So far, that hasn't happened.
Instead, the supervisor has advocated sending dogs to Brookhaven's shelter. After initial discussions with Brookhaven officials, Walter said he still favors the idea, but it can't be accomplished in the current year.
Walter has backed off his stated "100 percent" support for the embattled ACO and recently said he is looking for a way to transfer him to another department. In late February, he asked Farr for a 30 day "cease-fire" to allow him time to "deal with Coronesi," Farr said. The supervisor acknowledged the request but said he could not elaborate because it's a personnel issue.
The 30 days have passed, Farr says, and he went to this week's board meeting to give the supervisor one more chance to act.
"Instead, we get stonewalled and more lip service," Farr said. "So I'm asking the D.A. to investigate what is really going on here," Farr said.