67 puppies were found in a van outside the Just Pups store in Paramus, NJ last month.
By DANIEL HUBBARD (Patch Staff) - April 27, 2016
PARAMUS, N.J. — Vincent LoSacco and his brother Leonard were each charged Tuesday with 134 counts of animal cruelty for keeping 67 puppies in a van in near-freezing temperatures outside LoSacco's Just Pups store in Paramus, said Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal.
Paramus police found the van just before 3 a.m. April 3 while patrolling the parking lot. The officers heard crying and whining coming from the van, police said. As many as four puppies were crammed into some cages. Some could not stand up and were covered in feces and urine, the prosecutor said.
The temperature inside the van was 38 degrees when police found the animals. There was a heater inside the van, but it did not adequately heat the inside of the van, police said.
The Paramus Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Animal Cruelty Task Force determined that Leonard LoSacco, who works for his brother, transported the puppies from his brother's puppy farm in Missouri, Grewal said. The trip took several days and Leonard LoSacco arrived the night before the police discovered the van, the prosecutor said.
With his brother's knowledge, Grewal said, Leonard LoSacco, 51, parked the van in the "far back parking lot" and left, anticipating that the puppies would be unloaded the next day.
Both LoSacco and his brother were charged on summonses. They are due to be arraigned in Bergen County Central Municipal Court May 10 at 1:30 p.m.
Vincent LoSacco was written up earlier this year violation Missouri state code regarding the keeping and sale of dogs and puppies. The violations ranged from having unhealthy dogs to not maintaining proper health records. He denies running a puppy mill and doing anything wrong.
There used to be four Just Pups stores in North Jersey, but two of them were shut down earlier this year amid animal cruelty allegations.
Inspectors found three dead dogs inside a freezer at the Just Pups location in East Brunswick in January. The East Brunswick Town Council voted to permanently revoke Vincent LoSacco's health license March 28 and shut the store down. The Paramus Board of Health is meeting next week and could recommend the Borough Council make a similar move at its next meeting.
Vincent LoSacco reads from a prepared statement in response to animal cruelty allegations after 67 puppies were found in a van outside his Just Pups store in Paramus earlier this month. YouTube
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