Coitsville cops: Man not blind enough for dog

By joe gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

youngstown

Coitsville police say Kenneth DeFiore is not blind.

DeFiore says otherwise.

But DeFiore could not produce paperwork for the guide dog he was using to help him get around, so Thursday the agency that placed the dog with him sent an employee from their base near Syracuse, N.Y., to get the dog — as DeFiore sits in the Mahoning County jail after his arrest last week on charges of receiving stolen property and misuse of a credit card.

Coitsville police Chief Michael Morris said New Castle, Pa., police are also looking at DeFiore, 55, as a suspect in the theft of the credit card he was charged with using illegally in Coitsville.

Morris said DeFiore was arrested Oct. 14 after he was spotted using the credit card at a restaurant and hotel near the state line. He said video cameras show him doing such things as reading the newspaper or signing credit card receipt in the correct place.

Christopher Flak, a humane agent for Animal Charity, said that when DeFiore was caught on video with the stolen card, he had the dog, a chocolate lab named “Gabby,” with him.

Gabby is between five and seven years old and is in good shape except she is a couple of pounds overweight, Flak said. Flak said about a month before DeFiore was arrested, police asked humane agents to check on the condition of the dog and she appeared to be fine then although she did have a flea problem, Flak said.

“She’s really a great dog,” Flak said.

Humane agents were contacted about the dog again because when DeFiore was taken to the jail, arrangements had to be made to take care of his dog. Morris said that DeFiore had no current paperwork to show he is entitled to the dog, which came from Freedom Guide Dogs in Cassville, N.Y. When humane agents contacted them, the agency said it had been looking for Gabby for a while.

Morris said police have told DeFiore they believe he can see to some degree, but DeFiore insists he is totally blind.

The person who picked up the dog declined to comment on the case. A person who answered the phone at Freedom Guide Dogs said the agency had no comment.

Flak said it is disheartening that someone would take a guide dog with them when they commit a crime.

“It’s just another example of abuse, but in a different way,” Flak said.