A group of MaxMan Reptile Rescue supporters will petition District Attorney William Fitzpatrick and Chief Assistant District Attorney Alison Fineberg this week.
MaxMan owner Diana Sleiertin currently awaits the results of a court case, in which she faces 45 charges of improper confinement and 14 additional charges of failure to provide medical care. The Central New York SPCA confiscated more than 40 animals from Sleiertin’s home in late October.
“We ask that you consult with [Assistant District Attorney Laura] Fiorenza regarding the much-debated animal neglect case from Jordan which she has been handling, concerning MaxMan Reptile Rescue,” reads the petition, signed by 27 supporters. “Ms. Fiorenza has photos and information taken in and on one day; one day in the course of many days; one day that may or may not be wholly representative of ongoing circumstances. It is these photos and (mis)information that are the basis of Ms. Fiorenza and the SPCA’s case against Ms. Sleiertin.”
The petition claims that the CNY SPCA, an agency charged with rescuing animals, is now in the “unenviable position of improperly caring for the reptiles they confiscated.”
“The SPCA continues to hold the reptiles in their care, essentially forcing Ms. Sleiertin to accept a misdemeanor plea in efforts to save the lives of her remaining animals,” the petition continues. “To criminalize this person who has provided (unpaid) assistance to county and state law enforcement, including the SPCA; who has volunteered her time and energies to communities, to underfunded school districts and to community programs; and who has filled a void where other animal welfare agencies (including the SPCA) will not is simply unacceptable.”
