NJ Animal Shelter Director May Get Job Back After Alleged Cruelty

NEWARK, NJ — The executive director of the largest animal shelter system in New Jersey may eventually be allowed to return to her position as part of a plea deal that dismissed 16 counts of animal cruelty against her.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson with the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) told Patch that prosecutors have accepted a plea deal that dismisses the animal cruelty charges facing Roseann Trezza, 70, of Matawan.

Trezza the former executive director of the Associated Humane Societies (AHS), was charged in connection with alleged "filthy" conditions at the AHS Newark facility in November 2017.

Alleged issues at the Newark shelter included incorrect euthanasia procedures, bags of animal carcasses left laying outside the building, sick animals with bloody urine/diarrhea/vomiting, dogs and cats kept in cramped, dark enclosures without exercise, and a deteriorating, dirty building that posed health and safety risks.

• See related article: Head Of NJ's Busiest Animal Shelters Charged With Cruelty
• See related article: NJ Inspectors Find Grim Violations At Newark Animal Shelter

Under the plea deal, Trezza will be allowed to return to the helm of operations at AHS Newark after a two-year probation period, pending approval from the Newark Health Department.

The charges against Trezza came after years of troubling allegations from local animal rights activists and shelter volunteers in Newark. She has worked at AHS for more than 40 years, according to the NJSPCA.

AHS also maintains animal shelters in Forked River and Tinton Falls, and is paid to provide animal control officer and holding/impounding services to Belleville, Carteret, Clark, Fanwood, Hillside, Newark, Irvington, Linden, Fairfield, Plainfield, Roselle, Rahway and Winfield Park.

The NJSPCA released the following statement about the plea deal:

“We opposed the plea agreement and are extremely disappointed with the outcome. We remain convinced that if this case went to trial there is no doubt we would have been successful. The fact is the prosecutor had control over the disposition in this case, not the NJSPCA. Rather than moving forward with a plea agreement that included all or some of the 16 animal cruelty charges, the prosecutor accepted a plea deal which dismissed the NJSPCA animal cruelty charges, imposed $3,500 in fines for Newark Health Department summonses, imposed a two-year prohibition from Trezza’s involvement with AHS Newark and requires the Newark Health Department’s concurrence for Trezza to return to the facility once the two years has passed. This is not an acceptable outcome in our opinion and the prosecutor was and is well aware of our objections.”

• See related article: 'Disappointed' NJSPCA Calls Law Disbanding It ‘Unfunded Mandate’
• See related article: No Animal Cruelty Charges For Essex County Shelter, NJSPCA Says

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Main Photo: Eric Kiefer (Newark AHS shelter, December 2017)

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