Photo Courtesy of ASPCA
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Squad.
By Forum Staff
An Orange County man has been charged with multiple counts of prohibition of animal fighting after allegedly selling a pit bull puppy with a dog fighting championship bloodline through his website that advertises he breeds champion dog fighters.
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Dominick Barizone, 48, of Union School Road in Middletown, New York. Barizone was arraigned this morning before Queens Criminal Court Judge Toko Serita on a criminal complaint charging him with 44 counts of violating sections of Agricultural and Marketing Law 26-351 (prohibition of animal fighting) and one count of fifthdegree conspiracy. Judge Serita set bail at $50,000 bond/$25,000 cash and ordered the defendant to return to court on August 23, 2017. If convicted, Barizone faces up to four years in prison. District Attorney Brown said that, according to the criminal complaint, a detective with the New York City Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Squad contacted Barizone after viewing his website. The website’s home page features the front cover of Sporting Dog Journal, a dog fighting magazine, and includes titles for various animals available for breeding. Titles include CH (short for champion) and ROM, an acronym for Register of Merit, which is associated with dogs that have produced champion fighters. Twelve dogs listed on the site are labeled with CH and two others are called ROM dogs, as well as one titled POR, which stands for producer of record (a canine that produces a dog fight winner). According to the charges, District AttorneyBrown continued,Barizone’swebsite has various images of dogs wearing heavy chains to make their necks strong and descriptions of bloodlines that produce canines with “tremendous mouth” meaning the animal has bite strength and a strong jaw, “game” as in aggression, “extreme ability” and “long-winded” code words for stamina during fights. The site also includes a picture of a known dog-fighter. The criminal complaint states the detective exchanged emails about purchasing a puppy from the defendant.
The pit bull puppy was priced at $2,000 – $1,500 of which the detective allegedly sent to Barizone in the form of two money orders. Barizone allegedly specified that the payee line be left blank and for the buyer not to state ‘payment for dog’ on the money orders’ memo line. Continuing, District AttorneyBrown said, according to the complaint, a second undercover officer met with Barizone per his alleged instructions on Friday, June 16, 2017, at a mall in Newburgh, New York, with the remaining $500 cash to complete the transaction.
At that time, Barizone allegedly produced two puppies to choose from and stated that he had been involved with dogs since 1991. He claimed his breeding produces “winners” and that he has sold canines for between $2,000 and $20,000.
On June 21, a court-authorized search warrant was executed at Barizone’s property in Middletown, where police seized 19 pit bull dogs, along with breeding charts, five break sticks that are used to insert behind a canine’s molars to break a dog’s grip on another animal or object, multiple Sporting Dog Journals and a guidebook on breeding and raising pit bull terriers. The ASPCA assisted in the seizure of the dogs.