Florida: Bail denied for veterinarian Cathy Crighton in case of stolen horses that were painted with Rust-Oleum to disguise them

FLORIDA -- Bail was denied Wednesday in a Florida courtroom for a Palos Heights veterinarian accused of stealing two expensive show horses from southwest suburban stables last fall and a third from Florida about five weeks ago.

Cathy Crighton, 44, has been charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing the horses and with dealing in stolen property for allegedly selling one of the Illinois horses to an unsuspecting buyer in Florida about two weeks ago.

he also is charged with theft of saddles and equestrian equipment found in her Wellington, Fla., condominium and in a stable where she kept the stolen horses, according to police.

Crighton applied Rust-Oleum paint to one horse's lower legs and face in an effort to obscure its identifying marks, police said.

The horses were recovered in Wellington last weekend, and the two animals from suburban Chicago headed home Wednesday by horse trailer, according to their owners.

Last Monday a Palm Beach County judge ordered that Crighton undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Results of an evaluation have not been made public.


Crighton is accused of stealing a Swedish Warmblood horse named Keller from an Orland Township stable and a horse named Scooby-Doo from Wilmington in September, and transporting them to Florida, where she kept them in rented stables.

On Jan. 21 she is alleged to have stolen a horse named San Diego from a stable in Wellington, an equestrian community in Palm Beach County.

(Chicago Tribune - March 6, 2003)

Earlier:

• Florida: Veterinarian Cathy Crighton, 44, charged with stealing show horses and painting them a different color
• Florida: Painting of stolen horses with Rust-Oleum led to arrest of veterinarian Cathy Crighton

Florida: Painting of stolen horses with Rust-Oleum led to arrest of veterinarian Cathy Crighton

FLORIDA -- A stable owner in south Florida cautioned a veterinarian about yelling at people on an equestrian trail near the barn and wondered why she kept a horse under a blanket in 80-degree weather.

But what really drew suspicion to the former Palos Park vet was trying to camouflage white markings on expensive show horses with Rust-Oleum paint.

Cathy Crighton was charged over the weekend with stealing two horses in Illinois and a third in Florida, and dealing in stolen property for allegedly selling one of the Illinois horses to an unsuspecting buyer. She also is charged with stealing a horse trailer and two saddles.

The two Chicago-area horses that disappeared in the fall were being prepared for a trip home by trailer on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"I'm ecstatic, but I'm in shock," said Jolene Novak-Racevicius of New Lenox, whose horse Keller was stolen Oct. 8 from the Top Brass Horse Farm in Orland Township. "I'm happy to have her back, but I'm sad about the way she was treated. I was told she's underweight and very shy from being abused."

Crighton, 44, formerly known as Cathy Mance, was being held Monday in the Palm Beach County Jail in Florida. She was placed on suicide watch after she put her head in a toilet, sheriff's deputies said, and a county judge has ordered her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. She is scheduled for a bail hearing Wednesday, sheriff's investigator Sgt. Michael Wingate said.

He said Crighton admitted stealing a horse from a New Lenox owner but claimed she only picked up the other Illinois horse and the Florida horse when she found them wandering.

Crighton quickly drew the attention of stable owner Sohail Shahzada, whom she approached Jan. 22, the morning after the Florida horse was stolen, saying she desperately needed a place for a horse that was being delivered that day from Chicago, Shahzada said.

Shahzada noticed Crighton avoiding people passing near the barn on a public equestrian trail, he said.

"Every night my neighbor passes my barn walking her Great Dane, and I noticed that Dr. Crighton got nervous every time she passed, and two or three times she screamed at her to get off the property," Shahzada said. "I asked her, please, don't scream at my neighbors, they are nice people and they are on a public path," he said.

Within a few weeks Crighton brought two other horses to his stable, which were found to be the missing Illinois horses, he said.

"One day I went out to the barn and found her putting Rust-Oleum paint on the horse's face, with a brush. Now that just didn't make sense. I'm no expert on horses, but I know what Rust-Oleum is for, and it's not for horses," Shahzada said.

Wingate said Shahzada was surprised by Crighton's poor treatment of the animals and became suspicious when he heard that a horse had been stolen nearby. He found the missing horse's trainer, who identified the horse, and police were called, Shahzada said.

(Chicago Tribune - March 4, 2003)

Earlier:

• Florida: Veterinarian Cathy Crighton, 44, charged with stealing show horses and painting them a different color

Florida: Veterinarian Cathy Crighton, 44, charged with stealing show horses and painting them a different color

FLORIDA -- A veterinarian from Palos Park has been charged with stealing three expensive show horses from suburban Chicago and Florida, according to a spokesman with the Palm Beach County records office.

Cathy Crighton, 44, was arrested Saturday in Wellington, Fla., while trying to use black enamel paint to cover distinguishing white marks on the legs and faces of the animals, Palm Beach County investigators told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Among the horses recovered was a $50,000 Swedish Warmblood named Keller, which was taken from a stable in Orland Township last fall, officials said.

Crighton's bail was set at $5,000. She remained in the Palm Beach County Jail Sunday and has been charged with burglary of a structure and grand theft.

Crighton had cared for Keller, which belonged to Jolene Novak-Racevicius', before the award-winning horse was stolen in October. Shortly before the theft, the two had a falling out, Novak-Racevicius said, "so I decided not to use her any more."

When police went to Crighton's home to question her, Novak-Racevicius said, the veterinarian had her home up for sale and had left the state.

(Chicago Tribune - March 3, 2003)

Illinois: Dad fatally stabs pit bull that mauled his 3-year-old son; pit bull owner Benjamin Flores given a ticket

ILLINOIS -- The father of a 3-year-old boy who was mauled by a neighbor's pit bull Thursday stabbed and killed the dog after hearing the attack, police said.

The dog entered the family's apartment in the 2000 block of North St. Louis Avenue at about 5 p.m. when the toddler's mother went to take the garbage out, said police spokesman Matthew Jackson.

The dog belonged to Benjamin Flores, 22, who was cited for not having tags on the animal or registering it with the city, Jackson said.

The boy was taken to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center, where he was treated for injuries to his thigh and released.

(Chicago Tribune - February 28, 2003)

Florida: Boynton Officers Shoot Dead 2 Pit Bulls

FLORIDA -- Two dogs that allegedly charged at four police officers in separate incidents within 24 hours were shot and killed, officials said Friday.

The officers' supervisors will do a routine inquiry into the shootings, police said. But officials said the shootings appear to be justified and it is likely no action will be taken.

The first shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. Thursday when Officer John Bonfair went to a call where two pit bulls were attacking a puppy in the 300 block of Northeast 23rd Avenue, police said.

The owner of the puppy told police that as he tried to pull the dogs off his pet, the big dogs turned on him.

The officers began searching for the dogs when they received another call that two pit bulls were attacking another dog nearby.

When they arrived, Bonfair said he saw the dogs mauling a small chow mix. The largest canine turned and approached Bonfair, who fired four shots, killing the dog, police said.

The other pit bull turned and ran. But police followed it and found it hiding in a pen behind a home in the 300 block of Northeast 23rd Avenue.

Animal control officers said they thought the dog was too scared to leave for the night and therefore did not take it. An investigator was expected to be at the home Friday morning.

The second shooting occurred shortly after 8:20 a.m. Friday when officers went to check on a 911 call at an apartment in the 800 block of Boynton Beach Boulevard.

When the officers entered the house after there was no answer, a large dog rushed past one officer and charged at Officer Astrel Labbe, police said.

Labbe, a rookie who is scheduled to be released on his own from training on Monday, shot the dog three times, police said.

(Sun Sentinel - January 25, 2003)

Colorado: Former Animal Control officer says dogs that attacked Garrett Carothers had history

COLORADO -- A former animal-control officer for the Pagosa Springs development where an 8-year-old boy was mauled by two dogs says she cited the pets’ owner for dogs being at large when she worked there.

Helena Grandquist – who said she was fired from her job with the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association in October – said the property-owners association was "grossly negligent" in how it handled problem dogs.

"It was totally preventable," Grandquist said. "I could have prevented it if I had been allowed to do my job."

Garrett Carothers was mauled by two dogs Dec. 23. Hoping to go sledding, Garrett walked from his Canyon Circle house in the Pagosa Vista subdivision to a friend’s home across the street.

On his friend’s porch, he knocked on the door about 1 p.m.. No one answered. As Garrett walked off the porch, a pit bull and a Rottweiler-retriever cross attacked him, pulled him off the porch and dragged him 30 feet across the street to his front yard. Passers-by pulled the dogs off the boy.

Walt Lukasik, general manager of the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association, confirmed that Grandquist worked for the association for about three years and that she left in October. He would not comment on her allegations against the association or why she left her job.

Capt. Bob Grandchamp, lead investigator for the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office, formerly served on a committee that reviewed animal-control citations for the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association – a committee that Grandquist charges showed favoritism and routinely overturned citations.

Grandchamp on Monday suggested Grandquist is a "disgruntled employee."

Meanwhile, Garrett was released from Mercy Medical Center on Saturday. Garrett underwent 10 hours of surgery at Mercy the day of the attack. His scalp was reattached and his face sewn back together.

Garrett’s left ear was almost torn off, his mouth droops on one side, one eyelid does not close properly, and nerve damage is suspected. Garrett’s family has appointed his aunt, Deanna Hockett, as family spokeswoman after receiving advice from an attorney not to discuss his case.

The family is considering legal action.

Steve Benson, who lives two houses from where the attack happened, said his 9-year-old son, Daniel, was bitten on the legs, buttocks and arms by the dogs suspected of attacking Garrett about three weeks before the mauling. The bites didn’t break the boy’s skin, Benson said.

"We didn’t report it," Benson said. "We chose to talk to the people individually. That was the first indication that we’d better watch out for those dogs. Unfortunately, we chose to talk to the owners instead of the authorities."

Sandra Schultz, mother of the dogs’ owner, denied in a Monday telephone interview that anyone ever talked to her about the dogs biting a child.

Grandquist, who now works as an animal-control officer for La Plata County, said she worked for the homeowners’ association from September 1999 until October. She said the homeowners’ association was uneven in its enforcement of covenants governing animals.

"There’s just numerous cases where they let people off with dangerous dogs," she said. "It depends on how nice these people’s houses are – if they’re rich. All I wanted to do was do public safety, and they sabotaged my efforts at that all the time."

Grandchamp, the sheriff’s investigator, denied the appeals board showed favoritism.

"We listened to the complaint," he said. "Listened to both sides, and then we made a panel decision. We overturned some of (Grandquist’s citations), but there was extenuating circumstances."

It was the practice of the homeowners’ association to warn property owners rather than pet owners, Grandquist said. So she dealt with Schultz rather than Schultz’s son, Grandquist said.

"She always complied," Grandquist said. "She always put the dogs up. She tied them up, and she got them rabies vaccinations. She did the best she could."

Grandquist said if she had been allowed to do her job then she would have warned Schultz again, and the problem would have been fixed before the attack on Garrett. But she said she was not allowed to patrol the area where the attack occurred.

"It’s gross negligence on the part of the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association," she said. "They were so focused on trying to get rid of me that they were negligent in not letting me patrol that area."

(The Durango Herald - Dec 31, 2002)

New Jersey: Judge orders Joan Byron Marasek's tigers to be sent to Texas

NEW JERSEY -- After almost four years of legal wrangling, a New Jersey judge has ruled that the state Department of Environmental Protection could begin moving 24 tigers to a sanctuary in Texas from the private preserve run by the woman widely known as the Tiger Lady.

The judge said the woman, Joan Byron-Marasek, had had "by any definition, a reasonable time" to argue her case against moving them. But Byron-Marasek can still appeal the ruling.

The order by Judge Eugene D. Serpentelli, of Superior Court in Toms River, could end one long chapter of the state's fight to close the Tigers Only Preservation Society in Jackson Township, which began after a Bengal tiger was found roaming the nearby woods in January 1999. The 430-pound cat was shot and killed by the authorities.

Although it was never proven that the animal belonged to Byron-Marasek, who owns and operates the preserve, the state revoked her permit to keep the tigers, saying conditions there were inadequate.

Byron-Marasek said she was unhappy with the decision to move the tigers to the Wild Animal Orphanage near San Antonio. As she has for months, she continued to criticize the sanctuary, which the state chose.

"It is tantamount to taking children who are happy and healthy and loved and putting them in the home of a known child abuser and rapist," she was quoted as saying.

Carol Asvestas, the director of the San Antonio preserve, said that because of Byron-Marasek's complaints, many agencies had inspected the sanctuary in recent months, and all had given it their approval.

State officials said it was too early to discuss the details of the move, or even when it would begin.

"Our foremost concern is for the public safety," said Amy Cradic, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "We also are concerned about the humane treatment of the animals, and we want to ensure that they are transported safely."

Asvestas said she was relieved at Serpentelli's decision, but expected Byron-Marasek to appeal. "Hopefully," she said, "we'll get the animals by midyear next year, maybe a little bit sooner. We could do it in four to six weeks. It's the legal issues that could take longer.

"But we're ready," she said. "I think it's time. These animals need to be situated in a better place, and they need to stay together."

 

 

 

She said the Tigers Only Preservation Society was never an adequate place for wild animals, especially because Byron-Marasek tended to treat them as pets. Byron-Marasek's husband, Jan Marasek, 70, was attacked by one of the tigers on Oct. 11 and was hospitalized for a week with injuries to his head, face and upper left arm.

"I believe Joan and her husband had a very false sense of security around those animals," she said.

"They want to treat them like little kitty cats. They're not. They're dangerous and wild, and you have to be able to control them. He's lucky to be alive."

In a 40-page ruling, the judge detailed the long legal dispute that pitted the state against Byron-Marasek, who has housed the tigers on her property for almost a quarter of a century, since long before housing developments and shopping centers hemmed in the preserve. After the state environmental commissioner determined almost two years ago that it should be closed, Serpentelli said his only tasks were to determine who would move the tigers, and where.

(Baltimore Sun - November 24, 2002)

Earlier:

• New Jersey: For years Joan Byron Marasek insisted she was running a tiger sanctuary when she was really just hoarding them, say police