Ruff House Rescue director Diane Indelicato charged with animal cruelty in death of pit bull
A Long Beach woman is facing a charge of animal cruelty after workers at the rescue center she ran in West Islip complained she ignored their warnings that a dog needed the immediate attention of a veterinarian.
That dog, a female pit bull named Tali, later died, authorities said in charging documents filed by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in First District Court in Central Islip.
Diane Indelicato, 61, identified in court records as the president and director of Ruff House Rescue on Higbie Lane, was charged with one misdemeanor count of "torturing or injuring animals / failure to provide sustenance." Those records show Indelicato, arrested on March 17 following an investigation by the district attorney’s new Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team, or BEAST, entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Alonzo G. Jacobs on March 31 — and was subsequently released on her own recognizance.
She is due back in court on May 8.
The district attorney’s office said the charge stemmed from complaints raised from at least four employees at the rescue center.
Tali was found dead in her kennel on Nov. 6.
The attorney representing Indelicato did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Tuesday.
Correction: Diane Indelicato is the director of Ruff House Rescue in West Islip. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect first name.
A Long Beach woman is facing a charge of animal cruelty after workers at the rescue center she ran in West Islip complained she ignored their warnings that a dog needed the immediate attention of a veterinarian.
That dog, a female pit bull named Tali, later died, authorities said in charging documents filed by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in First District Court in Central Islip.
Diane Indelicato, 61, identified in court records as the president and director of Ruff House Rescue on Higbie Lane, was charged with one misdemeanor count of "torturing or injuring animals / failure to provide sustenance." Those records show Indelicato, arrested on March 17 following an investigation by the district attorney’s new Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team, or BEAST, entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Alonzo G. Jacobs on March 31 — and was subsequently released on her own recognizance.
She is due back in court on May 8.
The district attorney’s office said the charge stemmed from complaints raised from at least four employees at the rescue center.
Tali was found dead in her kennel on Nov. 6.
The attorney representing Indelicato did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Tuesday.
Correction: Diane Indelicato is the director of Ruff House Rescue in West Islip. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect first name.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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