• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

FRGRASSO Bad guy, sent me a dead caiman, has given no response

frgrasso wrote:
hello,
you can mail it to my work address,

f r grasso
13 apple ave.
lackawanna,NY 14218

The way I read this, is this is not his HOME address? He says "you can mail it to my WORK address.....And then the mayor says he will send the animal control officer over there to see what's going on......hmmm
 
It's a little hard to tell from Google Earth but it looks like a residence. There's certainly commercial buildings nearby though.
BTW - Is South Park of cartoon fame set in Buffalo? The address is a block away from South Park, although that is probably a pretty common name. :)
 
kmurphy said:
It's a little hard to tell from Google Earth but it looks like a residence. There's certainly commercial buildings nearby though.
BTW - Is South Park of cartoon fame set in Buffalo? The address is a block away from South Park, although that is probably a pretty common name. :)
Click to expand...


South Park is in Colorado :rolleyes:
 
I just wanted to point out that if that caimin was shipped 3 day shipping then how come it looks like it has been dead for a week? I wonder if it died before it was shipped? I can hardly believe that it had only been dead for 2-3 days.
 
Bear Foot Inc.,

Here is an excerpt about what you bring up from my earlier post on the same topic.

Mike

HerpkeeperVA,

I put the pictures up to show the dismal shipping and the lack of adequate airholes, ventilation, no mention of live reptile, etc. The caiman was in transit for two days. The picture of the animal you see in my post was from this Saturday, its the first time I've had an opportunity to take pictures. It has deterioted a lot more than when I received it, but I've left everything in the exact same state as when it arrived. I never even removed the caiman from the plastic dish. I'm not accusing Mr. Grasso of shipping me an animal that was dead before he sent it, but it died in transit.

Mike
 
This is the funniest thread I've ever read. If I was the animal control officer I would beat my son and make him refund the money. Harassing the mayor over $150 :rofl:
 
burncycle said:
This is the funniest thread I've ever read. If I was the animal control officer I would beat my son and make him refund the money. Harassing the mayor over $150 :rofl:
Click to expand...

Which part do you find so funny? I don't see anything funny about it at all. A guy ships an animal that may or may not be illegal in his state. It arrives dead and possibly packed improperly or dead before being sent. Now this guy won't refund the guy's money. I think he is on the right track "harassing" the mayor, if that is what you would call it. This guy is the son of a city/town employee and may be involved in illegal activities. Lets hope the mayor gets something done as I am sure he isn't doing much else all day.
 
ms_ramie22 said:
frgrasso wrote:
hello,
you can mail it to my work address,

f r grasso
13 apple ave.
lackawanna,NY 14218

The way I read this, is this is not his HOME address? He says "you can mail it to my WORK address.....And then the mayor says he will send the animal control officer over there to see what's going on......hmmm
Click to expand...

If it makes any difference I believe this is a house address. I located 14 Apple Ave, Lackawanna, NY as a residental house for sale, with pictures, on a real estate site. If you Google that address you will find it first thing.
 
Oh and FYI, the 13 Apple Avenue address is exactly 0.3 of a mile (3/10 of a mile) from the Lackawanna Animal Control Office which is located at: 714 Ridge Rd, Lackawanna, NY. I know this is a small town, but the guy who sent the caimen lives a very short walk from animal control where his father works. Just wanted to point that out.
 
One last thing, to answer a question previously asked, YES, all crocodilians are illegal in the State of New York. Here is a link to the Western NY Herp Society page which shows what reptiles are illegal in New York.

http://www.wnyherp.org/reptile-laws/New-York-animal-ban.php

I didn't post the link to the actual State of NY Official website which says crocodilians are illegal because it is so difficult for a normal person to understand the pages and pages of "law terms" unless they have had some experience reading and disseminating info from huge legal documents like this. LOL

Also, although you can ship caimans under a certain length through USPS, they have to be properly marked on the outside of the box. I think someone may have eluded to this earlier in this post. This guy not only violated the Lacey Act by not properly marking the box, but if I am reading the Lacey Act and the State of New York law correctly, the state of NY considers any member of the croc family to be "wild animal" and shipping wildlife is a also violation of the Lacey Act. So there are 2 separate issues where the guy broke the laws of the Lacy Act.

If anyone needs me to post the NY Laws, or where the Lacey Act specifies what I just stated, let me know. I can add a link or copy and paste it here.

Oh, and something tells me that there are also laws in NY which prohibit animal control officers and their family members from selling illegal animals and shipping them across state lines.

Needless to say, something tells me that by the time this is over with this guy is really going to wish that he'd just refunded the $150 for the dead (illegal) caimen that he (illegally and improperly) shipped.
 
Aprylla,

I would be appreciative if you would post the links to the laws you reference. I am the one that was on the receiving end of the dead caiman. I've finally got some time this week to start making an issue of it again. Thanks for your help.

Mike Navarro
[email protected]
 
I found some more VERY interesting information for you. In the city of Lackawanna, NY, the City Code of Ordinances pprohibits ANY reptile from being possessed. This is very clearly stated in thier code of ordinances, which you can see for yourself here:

http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/codebook_frameset.asp?ep=fs&t=ws&cb=1978_A


He is in Erie County, NY. I have yet to find the county code and all that online, but something tells me there may be wording in it about reptiles too.


Here is a link to the State Statutes of New York regarding animals:

http://www.humaneusa.org/Blank/NY Ban.htm

You can also read some more on onther thread here on Fauna about the reptiles banned in the State of New York:

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56952&highlight=york+reptile


Here is a link to the Lacey Act:

http://www.fws.gov/invasives/Index.LaceyAct.html

Bascially what this states, just a little less than half way down the page under Section "3372. Prohibited acts" here is what it says:

(a) Offenses other than marking offenses. It is unlawful for any person--

(1) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law;​

The word "transported" is defined on the Lacey Act as:

(j) The term "transport" means to move, convey, carry, or ship by any means, or to deliver or receive for the purpose of movement, conveyance, carriage, or shipment.​

Further, here is the part about having to properly mark the box:

(b) Marking offenses. It is unlawful for any person to import, export, or transport in interstate commerce any container or package containing any fish or wildlife unless the container or package has previously been plainly marked, labeled, or tagged in accordance with the regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection 7(a) of this Act [16 USCS § 3376(a)(2)].​

Also if you read the penalties for these acts you will see that there are civil and criminal penalties.


Also, here is a link to the USPS publication where it shows proper guidelines for shipping reptiles (the ones which are able to be shipped have to be sent the quickest way possible):

http://pe.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/pubs/Pub52/pub52c5.pdf

Please let me know if you need any asisstance in finding what sections you are trying to find. Some of these documents are extremely lengthy. I will be glad to help in any way I can. Hope this helps some.

This guy who shipped the caiman sure could have avoided a whole bunch of mess by doing the right thing in the first place.
 
Aprylla,

Thanks very much for the cites. I just now got back to the thread and saw them. Now I have some extra ammunition. Thanks again,

Mike Navarro
 
IMHO, you should pursue this - as in the sooner the better. Please keep us all updated on how things are going. If you need my assistance looking anything up let me know. I am not on as much as I was after the wreck I just had (I just posted about it on the "General BS" board). Good luck.
 
No, I still have not received a refund. Does anyone know how the small claim court procedure works in New York? I would be interested in going this route if I could tack on the filing fees to the damage amount, and it would be even better if I could tack on the travel incurred to go up there as well. This way, it would end up costing this joker a thousand dollars as opposed to the original amount, and this would cause me a great deal of satisfaction even if I had to bear the travel expenses and only got back the original damages plus filing fees. I could work a trip up there into an enjoyable vacation trip for my family so it really wouldn't cost me a lot extra. In Texas, I would file this in a Justice of the Peace court. What is the proper court of jurisdiction in New York state? I don't have any question that I would win based on the negligence he displayed in shipping. And if he did turn out to be the actual animal control officer and not his son, or even if it really was his son and the animal control officer did nothing about the violations, then it would be an interesting story that I'm sure the media there would like to here once a judgement was obtained. I'll keep y'all posted as I pursue this process, also does anyone know what the statute of limitations is in New York state for a small claim court? Thanks and happy herping.

Mike Navarro
 
Here is some info for you. It looks like up there small claims cases are heard in city court. Here is a link to the city's court page:

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/8jd/Erie/lackawanna.shtml

I do not know this for certain. My best advice is to call the city court and ask them is they are the proper place to file small claims cases for that city. If they are not, they will be able to give a you a name and phone number for the proper court. IN some cases, and some states, you can file your suit online or by mail. I am not familiar with NY Law though, so you may want to ask them about that too.
 
Thanks Aprylla,

I was hoping it wouldn't be a city court, since he evidently either works for the city or his father does. Oh well, it will be fun nonetheless. I'll call them early this week and see how to proceed. Take care,

Mike
 
Well, if the city court rules in his favor, you can appeal to a higher court, which would be an Erie County court. I would also suggest that you at least get a consulation with a lawyer to get some legal advice. Show everything you have to the lawyer and let him/her know all the circumstances...discuss suing not only for the caiman, but for travel, loss of wages from having to go to court, etc.

Yes, it definitely bites that the court is a city court in a small "everyone probably knows everyone" town. I am abotu to have the same issue here in my little town with a lawsuit I am going to end up in over my recent wreck.

Don't give up though! And let me know if I can help find anything else for ya. I seem to be able to find stuff online pretty well these days, LOL.
 
Back
Top