Baldwin Boro Minus Animal Control After 3rd-Party Reimbursement Scheme

Baldwin Borough is without animal control services after officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture shut down Triangle Pet Control Services in McKees Rocks Borough on Monday.

According to a KDKA report, the kennel was forced to close because it allegedly defrauded the state by getting paid for services that it didn't perform.

According to a report on the Robinson-Moon Patch, Pennsylvania State police have charged the kennel's owner, Kennedy Township resident Berard Dudash, with theft and tampering with public records, claiming that he overcharged the state by more than $37,000 for housing and destroying stray dogs at Triangle Pet Control.

Specifically, Dudash faces allegations that he falsely reported the number of dogs that Triangle Pet handled between July 2007 and April 2011 and obtained $37,384 in reimbursement for dogs that did not exist. State police said that Dudash was aware of the overbilling during that period.

Triangle Pet's services are contracted by a number of municipalites, including Baldwin Borough. Triangle billed those municipalities for every dog that it handled and euthanized. Those municipalities, in turn, sought and obtained $30 per dog in reimbursement from the Department of Agriculture, according to state police.

Baldwin Borough Manager John Barrett said that Triangle Pet also accepted raccoons and skunks that were trapped by Baldwin residents.

Barrett said that Baldwin officials will "have to figure something out" in regard to new animal control services.

Click here for more Baldwin Borough news.

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