And The Loser Is…
By Amy Fernandez
Last week the ax came down on the ASPCA Sandypets emergency boarding shelter in Brooklyn and the media is bombarding us with announcements that owners must pick up their pets NOW. It looks like about 100 of them won’t be claimed. Personally, this didn’t surprise me. Leaving pets at the shelter was a desperate decision and, unfortunately, the motivating factors haven’t changed for many people. They are still waiting for insurance or FEMA money that may never arrive to rebuild or relocate. New York’s perpetual housing shortage is forcing many into situations that don’t accommodate luxuries like pets. News reports state that unclaimed pets will be offered for adoption. ASPCA statements regarding their fate are unclear. Only one thing surprised me about this story. Why didn’t ASPCA opt to extend operations beyond the original 60 days?
At its max, the shelter held 280, far lower than its predicted capacity of 700. It was generously funded, starting with a $20 thousand a month rent break for the spacious facility with a volunteer staff of veterinarians. Rachael Ray kicked in $500,000. She and others donated the food and supplies.
Despite this, ASPCA may be tapped out. For most of us, Hurricane Sandy was the worst thing happening in New York last fall. Over at ASPCA it probably ranked as a dull subplot. On December 28, we learned they will cough up 9.3 million dollars to settle their share of a federal racketeering lawsuit filed by Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. Circus.
This delightful saga hasn’t gotten much coverage since last November when HSUS proclaimed that Ringling had been slapped a record USDA fine of $270,000 for Animal Welfare Act violations. Admittedly, that sounds bad. But it was about as minor as victories come in this long, bumpy ten year ordeal. If you missed anything, I’ll recap. In July 2000, HSUS and ASPCA were lead plaintiffs in lawsuit alleging that Vienna-based Feld Entertainment mistreated its Indian elephants, thus violating the Endangered Species Act. They claimed to have undercover video footage shot at the Ringling’s training compound showing elephants being whipped, beaten, prodded with bullhooks, and forced to perform when ill. But the case centered on star witness Tom Rider, employed by Feld between 1997 and 1999.
By the time Federal Judge Emmitt G. Sullivan rendered a decision in late 2009 Rider had testified under oath and appeared before numerous congressional hearings, state legislatures, and city councils supporting the ASPCA/HSUS crusade to ban the exhibition of elephants. In return, Rider supposedly received almost $200,000 and a promised cut of the proceeds if the suit was successful. In his 2009 dismissal, Sullivan wrote, “Mr. Rider often gave conflicting answers and was repeatedly impeached on the witness stand.” He called Rider “essentially a paid plaintiff” and there was evidence aplenty backing this up.
For instance, it is reported that ASPCA paid Rider $14,000 directly, plus $6,000 designated as ASPCA grants. To facilitate Rider’s ongoing payments – and make them tax deductible – the plaintiffs created the Wildlife Advocacy Project, which is believed to be a sham 501(c)3 charity. Want to discuss the source of all this cash? According to the suit, between 2003 and 2009 these groups generated one billion dollars in donations for this cause.
This amount allegedly included a July 2005 ASPCA/ HSUS fundraiser. The invitations called their lawsuit an innovative case to battle mistreatment of Asian elephants. Unfortunately, mailing those invitations to solicit donations on the basis of false information violated federal mail and wire fraud statutes.
After six years of legal choreography the case went to trial. Sullivan dismissed it on December 30, 2009. On February 16, 2010 Feld countersued HSUS, ASPCA, and the rest of the gang alleging obstruction of justice, money laundering, malicious prosecution, conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, illegal witness payments, i.e. violating that pesky Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
So far, only ASPCA has settled. Buckle your seatbelts because it’s probably gonna be another seven miles of bad road before it ends. Feld spent $20 million dollars on its legal defense and the RICO Act allows for triple damages.
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