Criminal Charges in Cat's Death

UPLAND, Pa. (AP) - April 20, 2006 -- A former SPCA official was charged with tampering with public records and fabricating physical evidence in the death of a cat that was euthanized.

Debra Jane Marchetti, a former director of operations at the Delaware County chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is accused of pressuring another employee to fill out a report saying the cat, named Whiskers, bit a shelter worker.

Marchetti, knowing that a bite never occurred, then completed a state document and submitted it to a Pennsylvania Department of Health lab to cover up oversights made by the shelter before the cat was euthanized in February, according to court records.

Upper Providence police filed the charges against Marchetti, of Upland, on Tuesday. A message left Thursday at a telephone listing in her name was not immediately returned.

"I'm happy (the police) did go ahead and do the investigation," said Kathy Giaconia, whose 14-year-old cat slipped out of her mother's home and was taken to the SPCA.

After Whiskers went missing, Giaconia said, she called, visited and left a message taped to a door at the shelter, which was closed. The next day, Giaconia said, she went to claim her cat, but was told Whiskers had bitten someone and been euthanized.

The shelter has since fired two employees. It also is conducting an investigation and has implemented new procedures for euthanizing animals.

But last week, the policy apparently was not followed, and another cat was put down before a family could come to claim it. "We still need additional checks and balances in the system," SPCA board member Rick Beeman said.

(Copyright 2006 by 6abc and Action News. All rights reserved.)

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com

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