Unregistered
02-10-2006, 07:18 AM
Kitty nabs unlicensed vet in undercover sting
The so-called phony vet is now facing felony charges
(East Flatbush-WABC, February 8, 2006) - A furry feline went undercover to help police make an arrest. That kitty nabbed an unlicensed vet -- who almost killed one man's dog.
Stacey Sager has more from East Flatbush.
The so-called phony vet is now facing felony charges. He was known to make house calls, but this is his last known address.
Investigators are not sure if he ever had a real office. They say he had no license and that he may have been preying on pets for years.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending for five-year-old Boston Terrier Burt of Bed-Stuy. But investigators can't say the same for 28-year-old Steven Vassall. He is now facing felony charges for allegedly posing as a veterinarian and nearly killing Burt after cutting him open to remove a supposed foreign object from his intestines last Summer.
Burt's owner: "His mouth was drenched with blood from just licking the wound ... he didn't leave any medication, nothing."
Charles Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney: "After he left Burt at the doorstep with the open incision, he had the nerve to send a bill for almost a thousand dollars."
Burt's owner, Raymond Reid, said Vassall was insisting on euthanizing the dog. But instead, Reed took him to an emergency clinic and then called detectives.
That's where Fred comes in -- call him the pet detective. Fred was once very ill himself.
In undercover video, Fred was used a lure for the proof they needed. On the tape, Vassall offers to take the cat and neuter him. But he was arrested before that every happened.
Today at Vassall's last known address in East Flatbush. The man behind the door identified himself as Vassall's father, but was clearly agitated by us. He said his son had moved away.
Meanwhile, neighbors were stunned based on what they thought about Vassall.
"He was very nice, very friendly," one neighbor said.
Investigators fearing the problem of phony vets is far worse, but taking Fred public, so to speak, is a deterrent.
Hynes: "He's the first undercover cat, but I want to make it very clear that we'll use this technique again."
The so-called phony vet is now facing felony charges
(East Flatbush-WABC, February 8, 2006) - A furry feline went undercover to help police make an arrest. That kitty nabbed an unlicensed vet -- who almost killed one man's dog.
Stacey Sager has more from East Flatbush.
The so-called phony vet is now facing felony charges. He was known to make house calls, but this is his last known address.
Investigators are not sure if he ever had a real office. They say he had no license and that he may have been preying on pets for years.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending for five-year-old Boston Terrier Burt of Bed-Stuy. But investigators can't say the same for 28-year-old Steven Vassall. He is now facing felony charges for allegedly posing as a veterinarian and nearly killing Burt after cutting him open to remove a supposed foreign object from his intestines last Summer.
Burt's owner: "His mouth was drenched with blood from just licking the wound ... he didn't leave any medication, nothing."
Charles Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney: "After he left Burt at the doorstep with the open incision, he had the nerve to send a bill for almost a thousand dollars."
Burt's owner, Raymond Reid, said Vassall was insisting on euthanizing the dog. But instead, Reed took him to an emergency clinic and then called detectives.
That's where Fred comes in -- call him the pet detective. Fred was once very ill himself.
In undercover video, Fred was used a lure for the proof they needed. On the tape, Vassall offers to take the cat and neuter him. But he was arrested before that every happened.
Today at Vassall's last known address in East Flatbush. The man behind the door identified himself as Vassall's father, but was clearly agitated by us. He said his son had moved away.
Meanwhile, neighbors were stunned based on what they thought about Vassall.
"He was very nice, very friendly," one neighbor said.
Investigators fearing the problem of phony vets is far worse, but taking Fred public, so to speak, is a deterrent.
Hynes: "He's the first undercover cat, but I want to make it very clear that we'll use this technique again."