Cops: Rockville Centre woman lived in squalor

Rockville Centre village police, checking Wednesday afternoon on the well-being of a woman who hadn't shown up to her job since Friday, say they found her barricaded in squalor, refusing to come out of her home.

"She said 'Give me water and I'll be fine,' " said village police Commissioner Chuck Gennario, who said his officers had to force their way in.

Inside the two-story house with the disoriented 62-year-old woman were 22 animals - 17 "severely neglected dogs," as well as a dead cat and four dead dogs, Town of Hempstead officials said Thursday.

Authorities shuttered the home, at 83 Clinton Ave., took the woman to Mercy Hospital for a medical and psychological evaluation, and brought the surviving dogs to the town's animal shelter for veterinary care, cleaning and grooming.

"It is incomprehensible and heartbreaking that 22 animals were living in conditions that constitute abject neglect," Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said Thursday at the shelter.

The dogs included 14 cocker spaniels, a papillon, a black Labrador mix and a golden retriever.

Of the 17, one was pregnant, another had three legs, and another was a puppy, she said, adding that their fur was matted and filthy.

The dogs are likely to be available for adoption in about 10 days, she said. She said the town would fight in court any attempt by the homeowner, whose name wasn't made public, to retrieve the dogs.

Rockville Centre Mayor Mary W. Bossart said village officials haven't been able to find any of the woman's family members.

Police were first alerted by a Waldbaum's supermarket in Baldwin where she worked, because she hadn't shown up since last Friday.

In boarding up the home, the village building department cited the premises for being an unsecured structure and unsanitary environment and for having an accumulation of garbage and debris, according to a letter by building Superintendent Dan Casella posted on the front of the home.

Murray said the town had referred the case to the Nassau County district attorney's office for investigation and possible prosecution.

Office spokeswoman Carole Trottere said in a statement Thursday night that she could not immediately comment on the investigation but Rockville Centre's police commissioner said he doesn't think the woman will face criminal charges.

"She didn't have any criminal culpability," the commissioner said. "She needed medical attention."