A convicted New Jersey cat killer has since moved to Dover, where headopted at least five cats off Craigslist, according to the animals' formerowners and an animal cruelty investigator familiar with the case.
Now, the cats are nowhere to be found, and animal advocates want answers from the state Office of Animal Welfare about 58-year-old Anthony Appolonia.
In neighboring New Jersey, Appoloniareceivedthe maximum punishment of five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of animal cruelty in 2008.Headmitted to investigators thathe had tortured and killed 19 kittens and cats, which he had obtainedthrough newspaper ads. In graphic detail, he describedhow hestompedon them, broketheir bones andslammedthemagainstwalls beforedrowning them.
Following his release, Appoloniabegan rentinga townhome near DoverAir Force Base. Beginninglast summer, herespondedto Craigslist ads for free cats and kittens in Delaware using eitherhis real name or aliases, according to statements from six residents who say they gave him felines.
Appolonia is barred from owning any animals or being in the presence of cats without supervision in New Jersey, under the terms of his sentence. But nothing in Delaware law prohibits him or anyone else who committed animal cruelty in another statefrom owning animals here.
Stuart Goldman, the former New Jersey SPCA investigator who played a key role in putting Appolonia behind bars, recently forwarded those statements and his assessment of the casetoGov. Jack Markell and Attorney General Matt Denn, urging the state's chief law enforcement officerto speed up theinvestigation intoAppolonia in response to resident complaints dating to January.A Denn spokesman said that his office had received the documents from Goldman and confirmed an investigation, but declined further comment. Goldman and Denn were first alerted to the case after NJ Advance Media reported earlier this month that Appolonia was allegedlycollecting cats in Dover.
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Goldman is aformer chief of the nonprofit Monmouth County SPCA and former chief training officer for the New Jersey SPCA who has conducted more than 2,000 animal cruelty investigations. While SPCAs in New Jersey are privatenonprofits, they do have enforcement authority in animal cruelty cases.
Since leaving the SPCA in 2004,Goldman hasvolunteeredhis time investigating animal cruelty complaints.
Neither Appolonia nor his family members in New Jersey responded to a request for comment.
Appolonia's landlord, Richard Bell, said Appolonia was honestwith him about his criminal past when he moved in last year.Appoloniais prohibited from having pets on the property, according to a lease agreement that Bell enforces through random monthly visits. Bell said he has never seen evidence of animals.
A recent visit to Appolonia's home found closed blinds,unrulygrass and aFedEx delivery notice taped to a locked storm door. Also attachedto the door was the business card of Capt. Reed Jones, a state animal welfare officer.
In a previous interview with NJ Advance Media, Appoloniadenied accepting cats inDelaware. The reporter, who was invited to look inside Appolonia's home, found no evidence of animals.
Similarly, Appolonia's next-doorneighbor, Dexter Joseph, said he hasn't heard animal sounds coming from the property.
A flight simulator technician who shares his home with his wife, adult son andseveral life-size stuffed animals, Joseph used to give Appolonia rides to the grocery store until he found out about his past.
"It makes me uncomfortable," Josephsaid, explaining that his granddaughter visits his home with her puppy.
The Attorney General's Office has referred the matter to the Office of Animal Welfare. Like other enforcementagencies, theanimal welfare agencyis charged with investigating and makingarrests, AGspokesman Carl Kanefsky said. "Our office would be responsible for the prosecution."
Animal Welfare Director Hetti Brown declinedto comment about Appolonia,citingthe ongoing investigation.
In a previous interview with NJ Advance Media,MarkTobin,who runs Delaware's animal welfare'senforcement bureau,said the state's investigation launchedearly this year but had beendelayed after aninvestigator was injured on the job.
That leaves James Waitestill searchingfor answers.
The Harrington resident said he delivered his 2-year-old cat, Tony, to Appolonia's home after connecting with him on Craigslist's pet section.
Waitedecided to part with hisblack-and-white calico last summer after he and his girlfriend had a baby. The couple spent an hour with Appolonia and nothing seemed amiss, herecalled. The next day, Appolonia called to sayTony was adjusting nicely.
"He stopped calling, and we just thought everything was good," Waite said.
Soon after, thecouple saw a photograph ofAppolonia on Craigslist with a warning: "Do not give this man your cats!"
They called Appolonia repeatedly and banged on his front door. "It was gut-wrenching," Waite recalled. "Tony was the nicest cat."
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Waite said he reached out to the local SPCA, Dover Police, Delaware State Police and the Office of Animal Welfare for assistance but was bounced around amongthe agencies. The Office of Animal Welfare never called him back, he said.
Other former cat owners provided writtenstatements to Goldmanbut did not respond to a request for comment from The News Journal.
Alicia Dobies wrote that she met with Appolonia at a Dover McDonald's in October to give him her cat, Harley, who was sweet but skittish around kids and other cats.
"He started talking about how his therapist thought it was a good idea to have a grown cat to help with his anxiety," Dobies wrote.
Myra Hitchens explained howshe gave Appolonia two kittens at a Smyrna rest area. As she tried to put one in a carrier for him, "he pushed my hand away and said I'm going to play with them until the bus comes," she wrote.
Tammy Elliott, of Lincoln, rehomed her orange tabby with Appolonia. Three days after meeting the cat, Appolonia told Elliot she was "too skittish" and that he had given the animal to a woman and her young daughter. He then asked Elliott for help in finding "a more lovable lap cat."
"He was very persistent to the point of being a nuisance," Elliott wrote, "so I stopped answering his calls and eventually he stopped calling."
Delaware, like mostother states, does not maintain an animal abuser registry for the public to look up offenders.Just this year, the FBI began tracking animal cruelty crimes through itsNational Incident-Based Reporting System.
Animal protection agencies urge people trying to rehomeanimals toeffectively screen potential adopters and charge fees.
Contact Margie Fishman at (302) 324-2882, on Twitter @MargieTrende or mfishman@delawareonline.com.
