Horse breeder indicted on animal cruelty charges

A grand jury on Thursday handed-up a 35-count indictment against prominent New York horse breeder Ernest Paragallo, Greene County District Attorney Terry Wilhelm said in a press release.

The indictment includes the original 22 counts of animal cruelty for which Paragallo was charged in the Town of Coxsackie Court, and 13 additional counts: two stemming from allegations that he malnourished a pair of horses who had to be euthanized, and 11 counts relating to horses that were no longer on his property when a search warrant was executed in April, Wilhelm said.

Paragallo, 51, operates the Center Brook Farm in the Hamlet of Climax and the Town of Coxsackie. If convicted of all 35 misdemeanor counts, he could face up to two years in prison and $35,000 in fines, Wilhelm said.

He will be arraigned before Greene County Court Judge George J. Pulver Jr. on Tuesday, August 18 at 9:30 a.m., Wilhelm said. In the meantime, Paragallo is free on $5,000 bail.