An Ozone Park man faces up to two years in prison after beating a stray cat so badly even nine lives wasn’t enough.
Richard Ferrugio, 51, was found guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a six-day jury trial, according to the district attorney.
“The defendant showed a complete disregard for the life of a helpless animal by violently beating it to death on a public street,” District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Ferrugio took a metal lug wrench from his Nissan Altima on Feb. 7, 2012 to bludgeon the cat after he said the feline scratched him, the district attorney said. When witnesses tried to stop Ferrugio and asked him not to kill the cat he replied that he “didn’t care about the cat and they would be next.”
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