A Mineola man was arraigned Tuesday on charges of animal cruelty for allegedly beating and killing four kittens and stuffing three of their dead bodies in a garbage chute.
Justin Visconti, 38, was arraigned before Judge Howard Struim and charged with four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and four counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals. He faces a maximum of two years in prison, if convicted.
On Nov. 25, 2019, employees of an apartment building on Lincoln Avenue discovered the corpses of three mutilated kittens in a garbage bag inside the garbage chute of the building.
When police arrived on the scene, a fourth deceased kitten was found in a discarded Amazon deliver box with the defendant’s address on it, which led police to arrest Visconti the following day, according to the county district attorney’s office.
Veterinarians from the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter and Cornell University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center examined the feline corpses and observed “extensive blunt force trauma injuries covering the dead kittens’ bodies.”
Visconti was arrested again on Aug. 6, 2020 for allegedly being in possession of another cat, this time an adult. A spokesperson for the district attorney said this cat was alive at the time. This violated a court order imposed after his first arrest.
“Repeatedly beating defenseless animals is shocking to the conscience and my office is committed to holding this defendant accountable for his alleged actions,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.
Visconti is due back in court on September 6. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Brook Salvatore of the District Attorney’s Animal Crimes Unit.
