charlotte spadaro should get the max sentence

11:12 PM PDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005

More than 100 animals were seized Thursday when officials conducted a daylong raid at a Rialto home used by former Beverly Hills Mayor Charlotte Spadaro as a rescue shelter for dogs and cats

Rialto police, assisted by San Bernardino County code enforcement and animal control officers, spent hours at the home on South Acacia Avenue Officials called conditions inside the house "detrimental to the health of the animals" and a "nuisance" to surrounding neighbors

The exact number of animals taken to a temporary shelter in Devore was not available, although police estimate 135 dogs and 30 cats were on the property as recently as late April

Spadaro, who was present with her attorney while a warrant was served, was not arrested The raid's findings, however, will be passed on to the district attorney's office for possible criminal charges for keeping animals without proper care or attention

"We think she's maintaining deplorable and unsanitary conditions that are unhealthy for both humans and animals," said Kathy Gandara, Rialto's deputy city attorney

Thursday's action was the culmination of an investigation that started in January, when officials were alerted to the rotting carcass of a Great Dane inside Spadaro's shelter

Further investigation showed questionable conditions for the hundreds of dogs and cats inside the home, but Spadaro avoided charges at the time by agreeing to weekly inspections of her property, Gandara said

But officials weren't aware that Spadaro had unloaded 2,000 pounds of animal carcasses into a van days before her first inspection, and left it in Riverside

"Instead of forcing her out when this was discovered, we gave her time to comply," Gandara said "She hasn't and her time is up"

Spadaro countered Thursday that police were targeting her because of complaints from neighboring kennels

"It's 100 percent unfair, absolute persecution," she said "We love animals. We do this as philanthropy. We rescue animals and I think the city of Rialto has been extremely unfair."

The city, however, said Spadaro has been "extremely vague" about exactly what she does with the animals she finds Gandara said she "has no idea" how Spadaro obtains the animals, and whether they have rightful owners.

The animals, which yelped as they were taken away in vans, will be held in Devore, and Spadaro will be given the right to a post-seizure hearing, Gandara said

A local animal activist said that, as someone who believes in a no-kill philosophy, Spadaro likely believes that hoarding a high