Pa. lawmakers take aim at 'big gap' in laws regulating pet cremation

State lawmakers want to prevent a repeat of the recent scandal that saw a funeral director accused of charging for pet cremations but dumping the animals in landfills instead.

A bipartisan caucus is pushing a bill that would ramp up industry standards for animal cremation and lay down stiffer penalties for those who violate those standards.

The push comes after Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged last month by the state Attorney General’s Office for allegedly taking money for pet cremations but instead disposing of the animals in landfills.

He is also accused of giving customers ashes that weren’t from their pets, according to authorities.

Vereb is charged with theft by deception for receiving more than $650,000 for cremation services he allegedly never rendered, but he faces no charges for the treatment of the deceased animals.

State investigators say they’ve identified at least 6,500 victims in the case.

To state Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-West Mifflin, the charges revealed a “big gap in the law.”

Co-chair of the Senate’s Animal Protection Caucus, Pisciottano said he and a group of bipartisan legislators are working on language for a bill that would close the gap and hold those who dispose of dead pets accountable for how the remains are treated.

“I think everyone realizes this gap in the law needs to be closed, which gives me hope that we can get some legislation done,” he said.

Along with Senators Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, and Rosemary Brown, R-Montgomery County, Pisciottano said he will seek to amend the “Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law” to include “misrepresenting disposal of animal remains.”

Bartolotta said she “held her breath” until she verified that the ashes of her own recently deceased pets were truly theirs. Since then, she has been inundated with stories of her constituents’ experiences.

The goal of preventing a similar incident, she said, goes beyond party lines.

“We want to put some teeth in (the bill) and make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” Bartolotta said.

Though the state will be in the midst of debating its budget, Pisciottano said he hopes to have language developed and a bill introduced by the end of June.

In the state House, state Rep. Abby Major, R-Leechburg said she is in early discussions to introduce a similar bill.

Major said she may model her legislation on a bill proposed in Ohio to make abuse of an animal’s corpse a felony. That bill was proposed after teenagers in Miamisburg, Ohio, allegedly mutilated the body of a dead dog.

“We’re working on something, but we really haven’t decided what that will look like,” Major said.

Many of her constituents in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties were victims of Vereb’s alleged theft, she said, but they “aren’t satisfied” with his charges.

State Sens. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, and Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, said they have signed on to Pisciottano’s bill as co-sponsors.

“I’m signing on as a co-sponsor to Sen. Pisciottano’s legislation because it will help restore confidence that our pets are treated like the treasured family members that they are and give families peace of mind in a difficult time,” Williams said in a statement.

Robinson said he was hopeful a bill could be passed by the end of the year.

Vereb’s formal arraignment is scheduled for June 18 in Allegheny County Court.