OLD FORGE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A Lackawanna County couple is facing charges for animal cruelty.
Police say there were more than a hundred animals abandoned in their home for months.
This affidavit details the deplorable conditions 132 cats and several dogs were living in for at least a month.
Angelo and Elizabeth Corradino from Old Forge are both facing felony animal cruelty charges for leaving behind the animals at their property.
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"The smell yeah was so rough," said a nearby neighbor in Old Forge.
That was an Old Forge resident describing the smell that came from this home for months.
The neighbor 28/22 News spoke with wished to remain anonymous and off camera.
She lives near the couple, Elizabeth and Angelo Corradino who used to live at 200 Amity Avenue.
They have since moved.
Police say they left behind 132 living cats, 3 dead cats and two dogs.
"It's disgusting because they had to know," she voiced.
In September of 2024, the neighbor says she first noticed the couple was hardly home.
After a few months in February she began to see several cats and kittens in the windows and that's when she called the PSPCA.
"You would see cats in the windows, but it was always different cats so in my head I thought maybe there's 30, 40 cats not realizing there were dogs in there, never heard dogs barking, never saw anyone walking dogs," she explained.
According to the criminal complaint, a Lackawanna County humane officer went to the property on February 23.
She quickly smelled the strong odor and could see the dangerous conditions of the home inside.
"There would be times there would be 20-30 garbage bags weekly that would sit at the curb," she recalled.
A notice was posted on the front door of the home, giving the owner 24 hours to contact the humane officer and prove the animals had not been abandoned. That didn't happen.
The house was then condemned and 22 living cats, one deceased cat and two dogs were taken from the home.
The officer says the hallway floor was not visible through the amount of feces and the animals were left in imminent risk of danger or death.
"Utter disgust that they allowed that," she expressed.
According to the affidavit, the officer spoke with Elizabeth a few days after the first rescue, who claimed her husband Angelo was there daily to feed them.
"It's even worse what they knew they were shutting the door to, walking away from and leaving there," she said.
Conditions were so poor, the Old Forge Fire Department was called in to do an ammonia reading.
The results were more than twice a safe exposure level.
For more than a week, the officer returned daily to set traps. They captured a total of 132 living cats, three deceased cats, and two dogs.
"It's child abuse. If it had gone on longer, what could have and would that situation been like," she wondered.
The Corradinos face six counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
Their hearing is set for may 27.
Zeiler tells me most of the animals were sick and covered in their own filth.
Some are receiving care at Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, some have been adopted and others are in medicals fosters.
