ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO SHUTS DOWN YONKERS SPCA
Cuomo obtains order requiring Yonkers SPCA peace officers to turn over guns, shields and identification
~ Organization hasn't conducted law enforcement activities for decades
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - - Yesterday, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that his office has obtained an order to shut down the Yonkers SPCA after it was found to be giving peace officer status to more than a dozen individuals, allowing them to carry guns without providing any service to the community.
Attorney General Cuomo's Office obtained an order permanently shutting down the Yonkers Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The services it was supposed to provide have actually been carried out by the SPCA of Westchester for decades. The order, the result of a lawsuit filed in 2009, also requires that all members with peace officer status turn over their firearms, shields and identification cards. The order also forwards any remaining assets of the Yonkers SPCA to a legitimate organization that prevents animal abuse.
"The individuals behind the Yonkers SPCA took advantage of a nationally renowned non-profit to masquerade as a law enforcement entity with no responsibilities or oversight," said Attorney General Cuomo. "Since this organization provides no service to the community, we have shut it down."
Yonkers SPCA, headquartered at 976 McLean Avenue in Yonkers, was incorporated in 1912 but has not conducted any operations in decades. The SPCA of Westchester expanded its territory to include Yonkers and has provided and continues to provide prevention of cruelty to animal services to the city. In 2007, despite the fact that the SPCA of Westchester was handling animal cruelty cases in Yonkers, Sean Collins, 43, of Millerton, resurrected the long-dormant Yonkers SPCA and established a new Board of Directors without the proper authority. The newly reconstituted Yonkers SPCA conducted no law enforcement activities.
Nevertheless, the organization conferred peace officer status to at least 16 members over the past three years, essentially allowing them to carry guns with peace officer status while not doing any activities relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals. By comparison, the SPCA of Westchester conducts all such enforcement across the county and has only two peace officers.
Peace officer status grants people the power to make warrantless arrests, use deadly physical force in making an arrest, conduct warrantless searches whenever such searches are constitutionally permissible, and to seize firearms.
According to court documents, one peace officer, Robert Castro, 34, of Herriot Street in Yonkers, was reprimanded by the Yonkers SPCA in early 2009 for brandishing his firearm at one of its peace officer training programs in a reckless manner while under the influence of alcohol. Shortly after this incident, the Board unanimously voted to remove Castro and several other members from the peace officer registry. Just over a month later, after tensions increased within the group, at least two board members brought their guns to a Board meeting. Before the Board meeting started, the president, along with several other members, resigned from the organization. Castro then became Chief of the Yonkers SPCA Humane Law Enforcement Unit and the Board attempted to reinstate peace officer status for Castro and other members who were previously removed.
In July 2009, the Attorney General's Office, in its role as overseer of non-profit organizations in New York State, intervened and obtained a temporary restraining order barring the Yonkers SPCA from appointing or reappointing peace officer status for any members. The court has now issued an order dissolving the Yonkers SPCA.
Information on nonprofits and charities, including the Attorney General's charity database and links to the annual "Pennies for Charity" report can be found online at www.charitiesnys.com .
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge of the Westchester Regional Office Judith C. McCarthy with the assistance of Senior Investigator John Slevin.