Couple faces animal cruelty charges

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Hundreds of animal cruelty charges have been filed against a New Jersey couple accused of allowing dozens of cats to live in deplorable conditions.

Animal welfare authorities and police were at the Berkeley Township home Wednesday where they say Richard and Gloria Maragni, both 63-year-old Livingston, N.J., residents, kept at least 113 cats.

The charges allege the couple failed to provide adequate shelter and sustenance to the animals.

A telephone message left for their attorney, Thomas Tucker, was not immediately returned Wednesday night.

Richard Maragni, a former finance officer at Seton Hall University, served 30 months in jail after admitting in 1995 that he illegally diverted nearly $1 million in tuition funds.