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A prosecutor from the Mahattan DA's office called a man who killed his girlfriend's cat "an angry, jealous, drunken bully" during during opening arguments. Joseph Petcka, a 205-pound former Mets draft prospect and actor, is on trial for animal cruelty after he brutally beat an 8-pound domestic, declawed tabby.
Petcka's lawyer argued that the cat, Norman, actually bit his client's hand, making Petcka's reaction justified. However, Petcka's then girlfriend Lisa Altobelli testified that she once returned home to find Petcka and and a drenched Norman. She also said he was jealous of her feline companion, saying while drunk, "You love Norman more than me." From the Daily News:
She eventually went to sleep and recalled hearing Petcka talking to the cat in a sing-song voice, "Norman, Norman, Norman."She returned to find Norman under a bedside table, dead and called Petcka, who hung up on her after she asked, "What kind of monster could kill an innocent cat?"Altobelli said she abruptly woke up after Petcka kneed her in the side and grabbed her neck. He claimed the cat had bitten him.
She grabbed her purse and ran out of the apartment after warning him to leave or she would call the police.
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Picking on a defenseless animal is disgusting.
There should be capital punishment for animal cruelty.
scum. rats hate cats.
what a monster. I hope he never has sex again unless it's against his will.
protect your cats Jen Chung!
Wotta fuckup.
I hope everyone he meets from this moment on calls him Petco so he can never live it down.
GREAT, now we can add "Does Joseph Petcka regularly visit home?" to Cat Adoption Home Visit Checklist, along with, "Would a mildly curious cat be able to get out?" and "Do the applicants seem to understand the 'in-your-face' nature of some cats?"
I hope gets gets butt rape in jail
The way the first sentence is written, it sounds like the dude killed the DA's girlfriend's cat:
"A prosecutor from the Mahattan DA's office called a man who killed his girlfriend's cat "an angry, jealous, drunken bully" during during opening arguments."
Put him in a cage with a litterbox.
You should identify Petcka's lawyer by name rather than just "Petcka's lawyer." The man deserves to be publicly shamed for his ridiculous defense strategy. The penalty for biting someone is death?
The question is why Altobelli stayed with this loser for six weeks when all he did was hang around her apartment and/or get drunk while she was at work. Is that the kind of guy you can envision having any kind of a future with? Then again, I don't really trust her judgement to begin with. If Norman was as gentle as she says, why did she put him through the inhumane procedure of declawing?
I guess they'll find out if Petcka's any good as an actor when he takes the stand.
What a sick fuck.
"You should identify Petcka's lawyer by name rather than just "Petcka's lawyer." The man deserves to be publicly shamed for his ridiculous defense strategy."
No, he doesn't. He's a lawyer doing his job. If his client wants to claim self-defense against a cat, that's his right.
Self-defense is the only possible defense this d*uche has as ridiculous as it seems. Anyway, this guy sounds seriously disturbed and scary. If I woke up in the middle of the night with someone calling my dog's name and grabbing me by the neck, I would run out the door with my pet.
@felixthecat
I think it's unethical of you to publish that email from Petcka's lawyer (including all the contact info.) In general, an email sent to you is intended FOR YOU, not for public scrutiny. Sure, it's easy to just zap it to anybody you want, but that doesn't mean you should.
Politburo (& Hochbaum himself) are right - the guy's just doing his job. He must know that this argument is unlikely to prevail.
The fact that you (apparently) bothered to harass this guy and publish his (correct) response reflects poorly on you.
@handsomedevil, why are you making assumptions? This email was already posted on the web and it was not directed at me. Anyhow the attorney is on record and his address and phone number is listed public. Don't worry about the lawyer he can take care of himself
For crying out loud, you're going after the guy's lawyer for doing his job? I hope that you never need a defense lawyer. Loser.
My thom would devour him
What is with the "Former Mets Prospect" fact?
Uh, first of all, the lawyer is identified by name in newspaper articles, but for some reason, Gothamist decides to just call him "Petcka's lawyer." Second, yes, if a lawyer does a piss-poor job like this one, then I see no reason not to call him on the carpet on it. Like I wrote before, a competent lawyer would have quietly plea bargained, not allowed his client to go on trial like this. It's nothing but public humiliation for Petcka, but it's more money for the attorney, who gets to bill for his time in the courtroom and gets paid regardless of whether he wins or loses the case.
You can opine about it all you want, and I don't have a problem with Gothamist publishing the lawyer's name, but contacting the guy directly is harassment and publishing his response is pathetic.
It is truly sad when a human being in this day and age has to be so cruel to a defenseless animal. Regardless of whether the cat bit him or not, he should have simply called animal control, he did not have to kill the defenseless little thing. From the reporting in the media, it appears to me that this was entriely Petcka's fault. He was a raging drunk and deliberately harmed and innocent animal. There is no excuse for his behavior. I wonder if he would have been so quick to violence had someone his own size hissed at him -- I somehow doubt it. He is merely a coward. That little animal suffered a gruesome death at the hands of a drunken, abusive bully. That is equivalent to beating a child. Did that make him feel like a man? I don't think he possesses the intelligence to know. May God have mercy on this bastard -- I certainly have none -- I hope he burns.
What is with the "Former Mets Prospect" fact?
It's probably to show that he is or at least was athletic, not just a fat 205-pound man. So it's even more of a mismatch, as if man vs. cat wasn't already bad enough. To me, it shows that he wanted to be a pro baseball player, but he wasn't good enough. He wanted to be an actor, but he wasn't good enough. And he wanted to be loved, but he wasn't good enough. Now he's going to be a laughingstock and maybe even in prison. For that, he's finally good enough. Kudos to his lawyer giving him hope that not only can he get off, he won't be a pariah after the trial. How silly is it to claim Petcka is such a wimp that he can't handle a little cat bite without going postal, even assuming he didn't provoke it? Quite a few people are bitten by vicious or feral cats. None of them kill cats.
"Like I wrote before, a competent lawyer would have quietly plea bargained, not allowed his client to go on trial like this. "
Lawyers don't "allow" their clients to do anything. They represent their clients. If this fuckup wants to claim self-defense, the lawyer has an ethical mandate to advance that claim. From the ABA's model rules:
Thing is...studies show that assholes who torture and kill animals can easily 'graduate' to assholes who torture and kill humans. if the girlfriend had stayed in the apartment, she may have been his first victim.
This one's just for you, handsomedevil.
Petcka's lawyer:
CHARLES S. HOCHBAUM
CRIMDEFEND @ AOL.COM
16 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11241
(71 855-4800
fax 855-4877
[24] You're arguing semantics. Lawyers are also supposed to advise their clients of the best course of action. Hochbaum apparently hasn't convinced Petcka that it would have been far more effective to show remorse, promise restitution and throw himself on the mercy of the court. Instead, they'll go through a trial where, win or lose, Petcka will be notorious worldwide (thanks to the Web) as a cat killer. And if he loses, it's even worse. Two years in prison. I can imagine it now: Hey, what'd you do to get in here? "I beat the crap out of a cat." Yeah, he'll do great in prison.
Besides, the self-defense strategy is awful. Self-defense does not allow unlimited force. You're only allowed to use as much force as you need to defend yourself. If a scrawny kid takes a swing at you and you shoot him dead, you're in trouble. You can't use deadly force unless your life is threatened. I don't think Norman had a good chance of killing Petcka.
>I don't think Norman had a good chance of killing Petcka
If it was an NYPD officer, I'm sure they would contest that.
Or maybe the cat was riding a bicycle, coming directly at Petcka!!