fbpx

Year in Review: March 2015

Victor "Buddy" Amato photo via dogsdeservebetter,org

Victor “Buddy” Amato photo via dogsdeservebetter,org

The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders voted to sell the two county owned nursing homes.

FEMA announced it would review every Hurricane Sandy related flood insurance claim.

SPCA Chief Buddy Amato retired six months earlier than planned after being sued for sending sexist and racist text to agency employees.  MMM reported that Amato’s accuser, Suzanne DesMariashas a long history of suing her employers for harassment and work related injuries.

MMM reported that the Monmouth Democrats would consolidate their resources in the 11th Legislative District in an attempt to unseat Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.

A federal jury in Trenton cleared the Monmouth County Correctional Institution of any wrongdoing in the death of a 22 year inmate who became violent after being refused the use of a cell phone.

The year in review: 2015

Posted: December 28th, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Monmouth County News | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Amato’s accuser has litigious and calamity prone history

Suzzanne DesMarais. photo via facebook

Suzzanne DesMarais. photo via facebook

The woman suing the Monmouth County SPCA and Victor “Buddy” Amato  for harassment has a history of suing her employers for sexual harassment and work related injuries.

According to published reports and interviews, Suzzane DesMarais has won a six figure settlement, multiple workers’ compensation claims and disability pay resulting from her employment as a part-time Special Class II police officer in Long Branch and Plumsted.

She suffered two house fires in six years. After the second fire, she raised money in the name of Chaos Foundation, named for her chocolate lab that perished in the fire. The New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs does not have a Chaos Foundation listed as a registered charity.

DesMarais, represented by the Shrewsbury law firm Shebell and Shebell, filed suit in Monmouth Superior Court on March second. The former police officer, who worked for MCSPCA as an animal control officer, claimed that Amato regularly sent her racist, sexist and homophobic text messages while she was on the job.  She claims that after she complained to Amato’s superiors that she stopped receiving work and that no corrective action was taken against Amato.  Amato resigned as the SPCA Police Chief after the suit became public through a story on BuzzFeedNews.  Garden State Equality, the gay rights advocacy group of which DesMarais is a member, claims it connected her to BuzzFeed to bring public attention to the lawsuit.

Amato seemed to verify the accuracy of the vulgar and bigoted texts revealed in the BuzzFeed report when he told the Asbury Park Press that they were “jokes between a bunch of guys.”

According to published reports and interviews, DesMarias has been down this road before.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: March 15th, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Monmouth County | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

In the Doghouse: Monmouth SPCA Chief Victor “Buddy” Amato Sued Over Hate Texts, Leaves Job

victoramato

photo via dogsdeservebetter.org

Monmouth County SPCA Chief Victor “Buddy”Amato resigned on Wednesday after news of a lawsuit alleging that he regularly sent racist, homophobic and sexist text messages to the agencies employees was broken by BuzzFeedNews.

Amato told News12 that the lawsuit prompted him to submit his retirement papers six months earlier than planned.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: March 12th, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Monmouth County, Monmouth SPCA | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Monmouth SPCA Asks For Public Help In Burnt Dog Investigation

logo mcspcaChief Victor “Buddy” Amato of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA) is asking for help from the public in the investigation of a dog suspected of being burnt to death in Eatontown on Tuesday evening.

Eatontown firefighters responded to a report of smoke and possible fire in the wooded area behind the Country Club Apartments off Tinton Ave between 7:00pm and 7:30pm where they found the burning remains of what is believed to be a beagle.

The animal’s remains were taken to the Red Bank Animal Hospital were a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Amato asks that anyone with any information about the dog call him at 732-312-7153.

Posted: April 24th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Law Enforcement, Monmouth County, Monmouth SPCA | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monmouth SPCA Asks For Public Help In Burnt Dog Investigation

Horny Tortoises Rescued In Highlands

Happy Ending For Giant Testudines?

Loud moans being heard throughout the Grand Tour neighborhood in Highlands lead to the rescue of four giant pet tortoises that would not have survived the coming winter in New Jersey’s climate, according to a report in The Asbury Park Press.

Richard Hines, 41, moved from North Carolina to Highlands in June, bringing his pets with him.  Big Blackjack, a 575 pound native of the African archipelago had been Hines pet for 15 years.  Three other tortoises ranging in size from 25 to 120 lbs were also rescued.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife filed charges of possession of an exotic species without a permit against Hines. 

Welcome to New Jersey Mr. Hines. Hines’ wife Christina told NJ.com that the couple would not have moved here if they had known they couldn’t keep the tortoises which are valued between $2000 and $10,000 on the exotic pet market.

 

Monmouth SPCA Chief Buddy Amato told NJ.com that the aninmals were malnournished and had holes in their shells filled with fiber glass.  He said they are desert animals that the Hines improperly kept in water.

 

 

Posted: September 14th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Highlands | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Horny Tortoises Rescued In Highlands