A mother and her daughter could avoid being caged after they changed their plea Thursday in a disgusting animal abuse case.
Ann M. Centofanti, 44, and 24-year-old Ann Frances Hesse-Centofanti, pleaded no contest to animal cruelty, grand theft and felony criminal mischief charges for keeping more than 60 dogs and cats in deplorable conditions in a house they abandoned in Oakland Park.
The legal move helps the women avoid trial and puts the fate of the first-time offenders in the hands of a judge.
In 2008, the Centofantis left 63 animals, most of them dogs, in a duplex they had just moved out of. The landlord came to the property and found the animals living in feces and urine-infested conditions, with fleas and other disease carrying insects everywhere.
The Centofantis also stole all the furniture out of the duplex before they left.
The animals were rescued and sent to local shelters. Miraculously none died, despite the lack of food or clean living conditions.
The duplex was so messy, that during clean up days later, workers found another dog buried under all the clutter. Clean up cost ran over $100,000 to disinfect the house.
Local
Despite al lthe animals, the women face only one animal cruelty charge. The Centofantis said they kept all the animals because they didn't want to see them destroyed.
The Centofantis apparently made a habit of taking in strays, hoarding them, and then leaving them behind when they moved. Another landlord came forward and said the women did the same thing with 16 other dogs.
Sentencing is scheduled for next month.
