Tiger Ranch owner gets new orders but no jail
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Lin Marie, convicted of cruelty to animals after a raid on her Frazer cat shelter two years ago, will not be sent to jail for failing to meet the terms of her probation, but a judge on Wednesday restricted her travel, ordered her to make more restitution and gave her a stern warning.
The warning and the new restrictions came at a hearing that was scheduled after the district attorney's office told the judge that Ms. Marie, formerly known as Linda Bruno, had failed to meet a number of conditions of her probation.
In January, Judge Jill A. Rangos sentenced Ms. Marie to two years of house arrest and 27 years of probation for charges of animal cruelty and tampering with records after investigators discovered hundreds of cats buried in mass graves. She also was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and $21 per day for electronic monitoring fees.
But at a hearing in March, Assistant District Attorney Deborah Jugan told the court Ms. Marie had failed to pay restitution and probation fees, traveled outside the county without permission and still operated the Tiger Ranch website.
At Thursday's hearing, Ms. Jugan asked that Ms. Marie, whose Tiger Ranch shelter housed hundreds of sick and dying cats, be resentenced and incarcerated.
"I can't think of anything good to say," Ms. Jugan told the court at the start of the hearing while discussing Ms. Marie's compliance.
Though Ms. Marie had since begun paying $1,200 per month toward those penalties and taken down the Tiger Ranch website, Ms. Jugan argued she still was not adhering to the travel restrictions of her house arrest. She said that Ms. Marie made purchases from places like Victoria's Secret and the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Ms. Marie can only travel for necessary errands, work and therapy appointments.
But many of those purchases were made online -- not in the "pink, fluffy store" people imagined, said Matthew Collins, Ms. Marie's attorney.
Though the judge determined that not all of Ms. Marie's stated monthly expenses were accurate, Ms. Jugan's evidence -- documented in a 1-inch thick book of financial statements -- was not enough to persuade Judge Rangos to order Ms. Marie to jail.
But Judge Rangos did order Ms. Marie, 48, to increase her monthly payments by $169 and also restricted the time she is allowed to travel for appointments and other outings.
The judge said that although Ms. Marie appeared to have begun to comply with her probation, she said Ms. Marie took too long to do it.
"Don't fool with me," Judge Rangos said.
First Published June 18, 2010 12:00 am
