50 Koi Fish Killed After Poison Dumped Into Pond At RI Motel State Senator's Wife Owns

FOSTER, RI — A man poisoned and killed 50 fish in a koi pond at a Foster hotel owned by Heidi Weston Rogers, the wife of state Sen. Gordon Rogers (R-Coventry, Foster, Scituate, West Greenwich), according to authorities with the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA).

RISPCA officials said Jeffrey Gronski, 59, of Foster, was charged Thursday with malicious injury or killing of animals. Authorities said Gronksi put Miracle Grow in the pond at the Stone House Motor Inn on Danielson Pike after an argument with the motel's management.

RISPCA officials said some of the fish that died were more than 20-years-old.

Weston Rogers said Gronski was a long-term guest at the motel. She said Gronski dumped the poison into the pond after refusing to clean his things from the walkway.

"My grandkids have grown up visiting the pond and love feeding the fish. I have raised most of them since they were just 5-inch babies, and some of them are as large as 27 inches now," Weston Rogers said in a Facebook post. "They had a very peaceful and happy existence until we asked a long-term guest to clean up some junk outside of his room. He wasn't happy about this and decided to get even. He knew how much time was spent on the pond and caring for the fish, and he knew how much they meant to us."

Weston Rogers said her family has maintained the pond for 15 years.

Gronski was arraigned and released on personal recognizance. He's scheduled to return to court on Aug. 17.