Suspects In Largest Animal Cruelty Case In New England To Be Arraigned

WESTPORT, MA -- Twenty-six people will appear in Fall River Superior Court starting Tuesday to face animal-cruelty charges in what is being called the "largest investigation of its kind in New England" by authorities.

In March, Attorney General Maura Healey announced that the owner of a Westport Farm, at 465 American Legion Highway, and 26 tenants had been indicted on multiple charges of animal cruelty.

The superior court arraignments start on Tuesday and are staggered over the next two weeks, according to the court docket.

The 151-count animal cruelty indictment is the result of an investigation that began in July of 2016 into a 70-acre farm in Westport owned by Richard Medeiros and involved multiple tenants who rented property, according to the AG's Office..

Authorities allege that approximately 1,400 animals -- dogs, cats, cows, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens and rabbits -- were found in overcrowded, overheated and dangerous living conditions at the farm, according to officials.

In some cases, they were living in such deep manure waste that their hooves had rotted off and they were suffering from painful eye, intestinal and skin ailments, officials allege.

“This situation is unparalleled to anything I’ve seen in my 37 years as an animal law enforcement officer. The sheer number of animals in dire need of care, and the cruel and unsanitary conditions we found were deplorable. It took an all-out effort of state and local officials along with multiple humane organizations to get all of those animals out of that horrible situation,” said Lt. Alan Borgal, of the Animal Rescue League of Boston, in a statement.

The following were indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on animal cruelty charges:

· Richard Medeiros, 83, of Westport (21 counts)
· Eduardo Caetano, 51 of Fall River (4 counts),
· Messias P. Farias, 74 of Fall River (1 count),
· Luis Machado, 56 of New Bedford (8 counts),
· Eddy DeAguiar, 37 of Fall River (10 counts),
· Joao Aguiar, 73 of Fall River (10 counts),
· Octavio Botelho, 51 of Fall River (6 counts),
· Luis Pacheco, 57 of Fall River (3 counts),
· Emmanuel DeSousa, 47 of Fall River (4 counts),
· Diana Magalhaes, 46 of Fall River, (4 counts),
· Bruno Magalhaes, 32 of Fall River (4 counts),
· Jose Botelho, 64 of Fall River (11 counts),
· Joseph Rego, 40 of Fall River (4 counts),
· Jeffrey Brilhante, 36 of Fall River (9 counts),
· Jose Aguiar, 66 of Fall River (9 counts),
· Antonio Dias, 64 of Fall River (5 counts),
· Eduardo Vultao, 51 of Dighton (4 counts),
· John Melo, 45 of Fall River (5 counts),
· Arthur Arruda, 53 of New Bedford (5 counts),
· Rhonda Gadomski, 50 of Fall River (3 counts),
· Kenneth Bellevance Jr., 44 of Westport (3 counts),
· Scottie Medeiros, 31 of Fall River (1 count),
· Timothy Cabral, 32 of Fall River (4 counts),
· Jose Reis, 58 of Fall River (3 counts),
· Antonio Medeiros, 42 of Tiverton (1 count),
· Donald Rapoza, 61 of New Bedford (8 counts), and
· Emanuel Gaspar, 55 of Fall River (1 count).
Courtesy photo provided by the Animal Rescue League of Boston.