New claims surface against Lackawanna's animal-control officer
Woman alleges Grasso shot her dog
By Gene Warner
Updated: 07/03/08 7:45 AM
As the criminal case continues against Lackawanna’s animal-control officer for supposedly shooting three cats to death, the Erie County SPCA has received other complaints about Frederick
S. Grasso— including one about the shooting death of a dog five years ago.
“Since this has broken in the news, we’ve received numerous phone calls from residents of Lackawanna who have told us of their bad experiences with the animal-control officer, Fred Grasso,” Barbara S. Carr, executive director of the SPCA, said Wednesday.
But there’s no way to prove or disprove such allegations, Carr said.
One such claim involves the killing of a Lackawanna woman’s 2-year-old black Labrador retriever after it broke its line attached to her home five years ago.
Melanie Wojcinski said that after Grasso shot Shadow in July 2003, the dog’s body was left in the creek not far from her home.
Her upstairs neighbor witnessed the shooting and told her what happened, Wojcinski said.
“[Shadow] ran toward the creek, and the dog warden shot her at least twice as she ran toward the creek,” Wojcinski said.
But that’s one side of the Grasso story.
Supporters, including many Lackawanna residents and officials who have worked with his office, describe Grasso as a kind and gentle man who would do anything for others.
“He is the nicest guy you will ever meet,” said one resident, who has worked with Grasso’s office. “He will do anything for you, at any time of the day or night. He is a true gentleman.”
That’s the same portrait painted by two men who dressed up as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger outside Lackawanna City Hall on Tuesday to express their support for Grasso. The animal-control officer is charged with aggravated animal cruelty in the killing of the three cats.
Supporters, including the two animal impersonators, believe that if Grasso shot the three cats, he must have done it in self-defense, because the cats were rabid.
An SPCA investigation determined that Grasso shot a mother cat and her two kittens while responding to a call about strays living in the basement of an Eagan Drive apartment complex June 10.
Lackawanna Mayor Norman Polanski Jr. has called the charges against Grasso a “publicity stunt” by the SPCA. “I don’t believe Freddy did anything wrong,” Polanski has said.
And Police Capt. Ronald Miller, Lackawanna’s chief of detectives, said that, to the best of his knowledge, he can’t recall any other criminal complaints against Grasso.
Wojcinski, the owner of the black Lab, has a different view of Grasso, the city’s part-time dog warden and animal-security officer.
Shadow was shot at least twice, including once in the back of the hip and once in the neck, Wojcinski said. An autopsy later determined that the shot to the neck killed her.
The police report on Shadow’s death stated that the animal- control officer had disposed properly of the body, Wojcinski said. Some children playing near Smokes Creek found the body in the creek.
She added that Grasso had signed the citation for letting her dog run free.
Wojcinski also suggested that she is hardly shocked by the new charges against Grasso.
“I’m not surprised at all, because when this happened to me, I had people call me and say Freddy shot their dog,” she said. “He needs to lose his job. He shouldn’t be a dog warden.”
