Arrest Called Break in Dog Fight Effort

April 29, 2003 -- -- The arrest of the alleged publisher of a magazine devoted to dog fighting is being called a potential major break in the effort to combat the spread of the blood sport.

Animal welfare officials said the arrest of the alleged publisher of Sporting Dog Journal, James Fricchione, and information gathered at his Westtown, N.Y., home could lead to the arrests of hundreds of people involved in dog fighting across the country.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General, which took part in the raid last week, said she could not comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing.

Fricchione, 33, was arrested on animal fighting charges last week by New York State Police, accompanied by agents of the USDA's Office of the Inspector General. Humane Society of the United States dog handlers also participated, seizing 17 adult pit bulls and one puppy that were found at the home.

Sporting Dog Journal, the magazine Fricchione allegedly publishes, is an underground magazine about dog fighting that Humane Society officials said is used as a networking tool for people who participate in the illegal blood sport.

"Because Sporting Dog Journal is a critical resource for illegal dog fighters virtually everywhere, I believe it would be difficult to overstate the importance of this multi-jurisdictional series of well-coordinated actions by the New York State Police and other law enforcement agencies," said Samantha Mullen, program coordinator for the Humane Society's Mid-Atlantic regional office.

A Web site that provides information on where to get back issues of the magazine features pictures of dogs fighting, and it is linked from numerous Web sites about "game-bred" pit bulls, which the Humane Society and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials say is a euphemism referring to dogs that are bred for fighting.

Most of the 18 dogs found at Fricchione's home had physical injuries that indicated they that had either been used for fights or were used to train other dogs for fighting, a Humane Society official said.