Deputized cat helps collar phony-vet
Published: February 9, 2006
Meet undercover detective Fred - the purr-fect cop.
The 9-month-old street-savvy feline pretended to be in need of a neutering to trap a bogus house-calling veterinarian, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said yesterday.
“This is the first undercover cat,” said Hynes, announcing felony charges against Kingsborough College student Steven Vassell, 28. “I want to make it clear: We’ll do it again.”
Hynes’ office set up the sting after dog owner Raymond Reid reported that Vassell bungled an operation on his Boston terrier, Burt. Reid, who said he heard about the phony vet through the grapevine, said Vassell checked out Burt in August.
Yesterday, as he cradled a healthy, panting Burt, Reid recalled how Vassell called him with bad news.
“I was devastated,” Reid said. “He called me and told me he found a foreign object lodged in Burt’s intestines. He told me he had to operate … that Burt was going to die. I told him I was going to come over.”
But Vassell decided to deliver Burt himself - with a bill for $985, Reid said.
“He drove up, and Burt jumped out of the car like there was nothing,” he said. “There was a scar. His mouth was drenched with blood. He didn’t leave any medication or anything.”
Reid said he got Burt to a real vet, then called authorities.
That’s when Hynes deputized Fred, a stray kitty with pneumonia rescued at 4 months old by city Animal Care and Control.
Secret cameras caught Vassell on a house call to an undercover agent who asked him to neuter Fred, authorities said. She handed him $135. Vassell was arrested as he left the apartment, Fred in hand.
“We saved [Fred’s] life,” said Joyce Clemmons, who heads a Brooklyn shelter. “Now he’s giving back to other cats and dogs.”
Vassell, who pleaded not guilty, did not return calls. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted of unauthorized practice and use of a professional title, criminal mischief and other charges in a 14-count indictment. Investigators said they’ve questioned six other pet owners and have 50 more to call.
Hynes said Vassell’s only experience was working as a vet’s assistant in Long Island.
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