Thoroughbred Dealer Convicted of Animal Cruelty

This guy sounds like a real jerk. He didn't know how his horses were being treated on his own farm? Come on, that's a Michael Vick defense that didn't work with him either. Plus, this is the guy's BUSINESS. And he didn't know? Yeah, right.

From the Associated Press...

Prominent New York thoroughbred breeder and owner Ernie Paragallo was convicted Wednesday of mistreating dozens of malnourished horses on his Hudson Valley farm.

A judge convicted Paragallo of 33 of 34 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts in a nonjury trial in Greene County.

The 52-year-old Long Island resident was charged after state police and animal welfare investigators raided his farm in Coxsackie in April and seized 177 malnourished horses. He could face up to two years in jail and $33,000 in fines, $1,000 for each count.

Most of the horses were eventually adopted by other horse farms around the nation, but several were in such poor shape they had to be euthanized.

Paragallo, who testified last week that he didn't know the horses on his farm weren't being fed enough, had no comment as he left court.