Attorney wants charges brought against original 'cruelty' accuser

By Mark Gilger (Staff Writer mark_g@newsitem.com)
Published: March 20, 2010

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SUNBURY - Attorney Roger Wiest II, who successfully defended his clients, Lloyd Reitz Sr. and his son, Andy Reitz, against allegations of animal cruelty at the Reitz Dairy Farm in Irish Valley, is seeking to have the woman who filed the charges against the farmers arrested for violating a state wire-tapping law, and perjury.

The Sunbury lawyer on Friday lambasted PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for "spying" on an innocent farmer and employing a convicted felon to commit what he said is a felony against the Reitzes.

The Reitzes were found not guilty Friday morning by Magisterial District Judge Robert Bolton of multiple counts of animal cruelty following a five-hour preliminary hearing

Thursday. The offenses they were accused of committing allegedly occurred between December 2008 and Sept. 6, 2009.

Wiest said he has turned over to state police at Stonington videotapes taken by Jeannette K. Aderhold that were shown in court Thursday in an attempt to prove the Reitzes were guilty of abusing and neglecting cows and calves on their farm. Aderhold, who worked at the Reitz Dairy Farm for one year, testified against the father-and-son farmers and provided PETA with video footage of some of the ill animals without telling anyone on the farm that she filmed the video, Wiest said.

"I find it pretty egregious that PETA trained, paid and equipped her (Aderhold) to do secretive espionage on an innocent farmer," said Wiest, who said he was said he was confident the judge would find his clients innocent, stated. "I believe PETA's actions constitute domestic terrorism. Aderhold committed a wire-tapping violation by videotaping the Reitzes and their animals without their permission, and I just can't believe that PETA employed a known convicted felon to commit a felony against a farmer."

Wiest said he also believes Aderhold committed perjury by lying under oath at Thursday's hearing. He said Aderhold never told the Reitzes about being convicted of robbing a bank 31 years ago in Perry County when they hired her at the farm, and claimed on an unemployment compensation application that she was fired from the farm, when, in fact, she quit, he said. Aderhold did not receive the compensation after it was determined that she quit her job as a veterinarian assistant at the farm.

"I believe we built a pretty good case for the wire-tapping violation during Thursday's hearing," Wiest said. "As for the perjury offense, we'll let the court transcript speak for itself and leave the prosecution up to the district attorney and police."

At Thursday's hearing, Wiest repeatedly challenged the credibility of Aderhold, who served as the prosecution's chief witness.

He also said Aderhold has used an alias over the years.

When asked to comment about Wiest's intent to have Aderhold charged with a wire-tapping violation and perjury, Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president for cruelty investigations with PETA, stated, "He doesn't have a leg to stand on. She (Aderhold) conducted herself lawfully. She bravely spoke up for the cows who she saw suffer day after day. That is just a scare tactic to divert attention from the suffering of cows at the Reitz Dairy."

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1 posted comments

Daphna Nachminovitch should take her ridiculous association with the terroristic PETA and go home to the left coast of California. Go to work for Pelosi, the absolute hypocrite who says she is a catholic and yet believes it fine to murder infants. I am sure that Miss Nachminovitch believes it is also alright to murder infants yet she protects cows. What an abomination and incongruity. Therefore, she would be a good match for the sad example of a human being from San Francisco who now leads the House of Representatives.
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jpk,  03/20/10 8:28