Long Island Man Accused of Aggravated Animal Cruelty

37 year old Mineola resident Justin Visconti has been arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated animal cruelty after the bodies of several dead felines were discovered by a resident of the Porter Regency building on Lincoln Avenue in Mineola and a building employee on Monday, November 23rd.

This was not the first time such a discovery had been made.  According to ABC News, the building's porter had found the bodies of discarded cats several times over the past few weeks but hadn't spoken up about it.  All of the cats and kittens died from blunt force trauma.

"These cats were badly mutilated, these cats were tortured by some means," said Jed Painter with the Nassau DA Animal Crimes Unit. "We had multiple broken bones. In fact, one of the animals, pretty much every single bone in the body was broken."

None of the cats belonged to Visconti and it is unclear as to how he came to be in possession of them.  Neighbors were alerted to the abuse when Police began going door to door in the complex asking if anyone was missing a cat.

At the time of his latest arrest, Visconti was on probation for charges including grand larceny, stalking and aggravated harassment.

He is currently facing four counts of aggravated animal cruelty and could possibly face more.  If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.