New York: Richard DeSantis accused of stealing neighbors' cats, taking them to the shelter, claiming to be the owner and having them euthanized

NEW YORK -- Neighbors allege that a New York man who rehabilitates birds in his suburban backyard may be stealing people's cats and having them put to sleep.

Richard DeSantis has been charged with taking his neighbor's cat to the animal shelter, falsely claiming ownership and having it put to sleep.

A spokeswoman for the town of Islip, which operates the shelter, said that DeSantis has been there before.

"The shelter's records indicate that since 1995, this gentleman has brought in five cats to be euthanized," the unidentified spokeswoman told the New York Daily News.

Regina Fagone pressed charges against DeSantis after she learned Saturday that her cat had been euthanized at the pound without her consent.

Fagone believes that two of the cats euthanized in the past were hers, both put down in 1998. She said that at the time she had just moved to the neighborhood, so she kept her mouth shut and ignored Fagone.

(UPI - April 18, 2006)