NY mobster asks for leniency after FBI traumatizes his puppy in raid

Frank "Frankie Steel" Pontillo is accused of "buying less than $10,000 worth of stolen TVs and other electronic equipment from a mob snitch in a sting operation," but he has his own accusation to make, pointed at the FBI. Pontillo claimed that in a raid on his home, FBI agents threw his 4 lb. Maltese puppy, Logan, against a wall, traumatizing the pup.

The FBI team barged into Pontillo's Staten Island home January 20 and threw concussion grenades inside, which launched the dog into the air and against the wall, the New York Daily News reported.

"The resulting blast propelled a 4-pound puppy across the room into a wall," the paper reported defense lawyer George Farkas stated in court papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. "The little dog has not been the same since."

Using the dog as evidence of excessive force, Farkas plans to ask the court for lenience in sentencing Pontillo.

A neighbor told the paper that the dog has been "terrified" around strangers since the raid, though the News photographer noted that it seemed very friendly.

FBI agent James Margolin told the paper that the force used in the raid — part of the biggest mob bust in history — was necessary. Pontillo is 370 lb.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

(h/t: Runnin' Scared)