Attorney for Tony Cavallaro tells WGRZ his client will end his legal battle seeking the return of his pet reptile seized by New York State
HAMBURG, N.Y. — A Hamburg man has decided to end his two year legal battle with New York State in which he sought the return of his pet alligator which was seized by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
“For Tony, this has been a long hard fight and an expensive one,” said attorney Peter Kooshoian, who represents Tony Cavallaro.
Cavallaro kept the 750 pound reptile inside a room with an indoor pool in his Hamburg home for about 30 years until it was taken from him by the DEC in March of 2024, touching off a legal battle that made national headlines.
Following the gator’s seizure, which the state says was made because Cavallaro had failed for three years to obtain- under a more recently passed law – a necessary dangerous animal license, Albert the Alligator eventually was taken to a sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas.
The DEC also claimed the gator had health issues.
Just over a year ago, a State Supreme Court Justice gave the state 30 days to review Cavallaro’s renewed application, and said that if didn’t it would automatically be approved.
The state filed an appeal with the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division seeking an extension of time, which it was granted.
The DEC then denied Cavallaro’s permit seeking to keep Albert in July.
Once the denial was filed, lawyers for the NY Sate Attorney General’s office then withdrew their appeal.
However, at that point, Kooshoian felt the previous judge’s order should have been put back into effect because the DEC failed to rule on the permit within 30 days as ordered.
“They (DEC) didn’t do what they were supposed to do, which was to review the license application within 30 days of the date of the entry of the previous court order,” said Kooshoian.
But that also left Cavallaro, who’d already spent considerable sums in legal fees, in the jaws of a difficult decision.
According to Kooshoian, he would have to make another application to the court to enforce the previous order resulting in another year or so of a protracted court battle with the state, which has an endless supply of taxpayer dollars at its disposal, while Cavallaro does not.
Cavallaro also felt that even if he ultimately prevailed and got the animal back, he would face continued harassment from the state.
“He’s 66 and doesn’t really want to have to deal with the state all the time in his backyard.,” said Kooshoian. “So, even if he were to win, he couldn’t consider it a win because of the amount that the state would be on top of him, in terms of observing him, checking on him, and all that. If he were to get the alligator back in his view, under those circumstances, it wouldn’t even be worth the win.”
Albert the Alligator may not be the only one living the remainder of his life out of state.
“My client doesn’t like how he was treated by the state, and I don’t blame him,” said Kooshoian. “And I don’t think he wants to live here and give them his tax revenue anymore because he feels he was mistreated by the government.”
As of Tuesday evening neither the DEC nor the State Attorney General’s Office had responded with a comment.