New Charge for Fancy Pups Owner Rocco Garruto

Woodbridge, NJ - Rocco Garruto, the embattled owner of Fancy Pups pet store who is facing animal cruelty charges, has now been hit with a new allegation from the Woodbridge police: Filing a false claim of police brutality.

On December 27 of last year, Garruto was arrested by the NJSPCA. The state agency is accusing him of selling sick dogs out of his Avenel pet store, as well as denying dogs fresh water and keeping them in urine- and excrement-covered newspapers.

Woodbridge police assisted the NJSPCA with that Dec. 27 arrest. After his arrest, Garruto told several media outlets, including Patch, that he had been the victim of police brutality while in custody at Woodbridge Police Headquarters.

Shackled to a pipe in the basement of Woodbridge police HQ

The day of his arrest, Garruto said that instead of being put in a jail cell, he was instead handcuffed by his wrists to a pipe in the basement of police headquarters for four hours, from about 7:15 a.m. until 11:50 a.m.

He was not given access to water or a bathroom, he says. “I started having an anxiety attack,” he told Patch. ”I started screaming, ’Help me! I’m having an anxiety attack!’ I couldn’t move.”

“The officer who chained me said, ’You know, I’m an animal lover,’” said Garruto.

As Patch reported, Woodbridge Police Internal Affairs Unit contacted Garruto to investigate the allegations.

But on Thursday, police said they found his claims to be unsubstantiated. Additionally, they are charging Garruto with filing a false report.

"A formal investigation was conducted and it was determined by the evidence that none of Mr. Garruto’s allegations were true," said Captain Roy Hoppock, the Woodbridge police spokesman.

"Mr. Garruto provided investigators with a statement regarding an incident within his concern that did not occur," Hoppock continued. "Therefore a complaint was signed by Woodbridge Police against Mr. Garruto for 'False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities.'"

That is a fourth-degree crime, Hoppock said. Garruto was not physically arrested for this latest charge, but the complaint was sent to his attorney.