Connecticut: State says Westport animal inspections may be illegal

CONNECTICUT -- The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has intimated that animal inspections, which were previously conducted at the site of a massive alleged animal cruelty crime scene in Westport, may have been illegal.

“Massachusetts law stipulates that only individuals who are approved by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources as Animal Inspectors are able to conduct (or) sign inspections,” Katie Gronendyke, spokeswoman of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said.

 

Earlier Friday, Westport Senior Health Agent James Walsh told NBC 10 News that he participated in inspections.

“I did the work. They signed the form,” he said.

 

Elected Board of Health officials Karl Santos and John Colletti said they are the only two animal inspectors in town who could have done inspections on the site at 465 American Legion Highway.

They admitted that Walsh often does the work, but insist he was just helping out, and that they sign off on it.

“I’ve been out with him on some of these calls and he documents everything that’s in the book,” Colletti said. “One of us usually goes with him.”

Santos also admitted Friday that he inspected the leased farm land on January 11.

 

NBC 10 obtained four inspection reports, which featured completely illegible signatures, most of which were simply straight lines.

Santos said he doesn’t usually sign form that way, but that he was “probably just getting sloppy that day.”

Still, Board of Health officials insist the inspections turned up no problems. They said they were done in winter, when fewer animals were present, and claim many of the areas they were supposed to review were impossible to access.

 

 

However, Westport police have been highly critical of the board.

“It doesn’t take someone with a master’s degree in some sort of animal science to realize that there’s some stuff on the ground that’s been there for years," Detective Jeff Majewski of the Westport Police Department said.

In addition, town selectman also held a closed door meeting on the issue Friday. Chairman Michael Sullivan told NBC 10 that town officials would investigate.

"What we did, what we could have done differently, and what we need to do differently going forward -- we'll sort all that out," he said.

 

Police remained at the crime scene for a fourth day Friday, and expect to continue their investigation there until early next week.

The USDA was also on site, in addition to local and state officials, as many of the livestock were sold for food.

 

(Turn to 10 - ‎July 22, 2016‎)

Earlier:

• Connecticut: 'Awful, deplorable conditions,' dead animals at Westport site for 2nd time in 6 years
• Connecticut: Site of Westport animal cruelty case declared 'biosecurity area'