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Local dog-fighting suspects lead to national arrests
Katie Waters hugs Cookie
S.C. Spangler/Tribune-Review
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. James Fulmer
S.C. Spangler/Tribune-Review
Bob Stiles can be reached via e-mail or at 724-836-6622.
They continued to fight in the carpeted area walled by plywood boards until only a shakeable carcass remained of one dog.
This fight, shown via videotape at a news conference Monday at the state police barracks at Belle Vernon, was aired as state officials said they had arrested two men whose magazine played a key role in promoting dog fighting in Pennsylvania and the nation.
James Jay Fricchione, 34, of Westtown, N.Y., and John "Jack" Kelly, 80, of Jefferson, Ga., were charged yesterday with two counts each of cruelty to animals and one count each of conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals. Each offense is a felony and carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine, authorities said.
State Attorney General Jerry Pappert said the two men operated Sporting Dog Journal, an underground dog-fighting publication. The magazine played an "essential role in advancing dog fighting throughout the nation and driving up the profits associated with dog fighting," Pappert said.
The charges grew out of a grand jury investigation that resulted in the 2002 arrests of six people from southwestern Pennsylvania on dog-fighting charges. During that investigation, the state police Organized Crime Section and agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture learned of the magazine, which was started in 1972.
Authorities said the magazine provided several essential services for dog fighters. They included reports on dog-fighting matches and lists of winners. The magazine also awarded dogs the distinction of being a champion or grand champion.
"Just as the American Kennel Club bestows the title of champion on show dogs, the Sporting Dog Journal would confer the title of champion upon a pit bull that won three fights and the journal would confer the title of grand champion on a dog that won five fights," Pappert said.
The magazine also advertised champion animals for breeding, dog-fighting equipment and medicine for injured dogs.
"By listing and ranking the winners, and by essentially being a sanctioning body that determines what dog is a champion and grand champion, the magazine drove up the profit for dog fighting," Pappert said.
Individuals often bet as much as $10,000 on a single dogfight involving grand champions, officials said. The purse for a series of dogfights in a single night could reach $50,000.
Pappert noted that sometimes dogfights end as it did in the video shown during the news conference.
"In some fights the dogs fight to the death," Pappert said. "They view the dogs not as pets but as investments, and their dividends are paid on stud fees and higher stakes in matches."
Badly injured dogs frequently are euthanized by electrocution, Pappert said.
The magazine had a paid circulation of about 10,000 nationally and internationally. To subscribe, a person needed references from people known in dog-fighting circles, Pappert said.
The publication was allegedly operated by Kelly until he sold it to Fricchione in 2001.
The American Humane Society estimates that about 40,000 people are involved in dog fighting across the United States.
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