$500K bond set for slaughterhouse suspect

Judge denies pleas for lower bond

MIAMI – A man accused of running an illegal slaughterhouse appeared in bond court Monday morning. 

During Rudesindo "Rudy" Acosta's bond hearing, an attorney for Acosta requested that the bond be lowered, saying that $500,000 is "excessive" and "unreasonable."

"My client has extensive ties to the community. Sitting here in court, a part of his family -- they're all women. They're all here today to pledge their support for him," the attorney said. "After he was arrested, he was taken to Ward D. He suffered from high blood pressure. His blood pressure went up to 240 over 180. He also is, he had rectal colon cancer four years ago. He was operated and part of his rectum and colon was removed, your honor."

The judge refused, setting Acosta's bond at $500,000. 

Acosta is charged with three counts of animal cruelty, one count of using a firearm during the commission of a felony, 40 counts of animal confinement and three counts of conspiracy. The State Attorney's Office said Acosta was the patriarch of the family-run slaughterhouse.

Also arrested were Acosta's godson, Luis Cardova, 24, and Javier Estevanez, 43. Two 14-year-olds, also Acosta's godsons, were taken into custody. Officials said the four worked as butchers in Acosta's operation. 

In an affidavit, graphics images showed Acosta slaughtering two pigs and a cow. 

"They've got poles where they can hang the animals and everything. It's pretty bad," said Steve Rubin, who volunteered to rescue the animals. 

Police said Richard Couto with the Animal Recovery Mission photographed Acosta killing the animals.

"They have all sorts of things in there, like blowtorches and chainsaws and stun guns. Half the time they don't even kill them; they just cut them up while they're alive," said Andrew Malek with Animal Recovery Mission. 

In the arrest warrant, police said cows were decapitated while still alive, and pigs were beaten to death with hammers.

"He could have easily shot these animals with a bullet and put them out of their misery. He didn't do that because it's cheaper to sledgehammer them, saving basically money on ammunition," Couto said.

A total of 600 other animals were rescued on Saturday. Five had to be euthanized on site and several died overnight. Rescue workers are not sure why the animals died, but think it may be from disease. Many of the animals are heading to farms in Ocala and Okeechobee.

City officials will be inspecting the area's drinking water as blood from many of the live kills could have seeped into the water supply. 

A representative of the Miami-Dade County Department of Permitting, Environment and Regulatory Affairs released a statement Monday afternoon, saying it was called to inspect the site. 

"During this inspection, our inspectors observed offal, other animal waste by-products and fluids from slaughtered animals improperly disposed of on open ground areas at the subject property. As a result, a Field Notice to Correct a Sanitary Nuisance was issued by this Department with requirements for corrective actions. PERA will continue its investigation along with any necessary follow-up action to ensure compliance. The Department at this time does not have sufficient information to determine whether this operation has impacted ground water at the site."

Acosta's attorney spoke to reporters after the bond hearing Monday.

"We'll address all the counts and all the charges, and we'll fight them one by one," Acosta's attorney said after the hearing. "I assure you that Mr. Acosta's a hardworking man."

Animal activists are celebrating the $500,000 bond and said slaughterhouses in Miami-Dade County are commonplace and unregulated. 

"I've been waiting for Rudy to go into prison for a long, long time. A bond of that nature shows that the state is starting to take action and cares about the animals in the state of Florida. It's about time," Couto said.

Animal activists said there are nearly 100 illegal slaughterhouses operating in Miami-Dade County. 

Police said the customers of the slaughterhouses are typically Latin-American families used to a rural lifestyle. With Thanksgiving days away, the demand for pork is high, which is why detectives believe there could be dozens of similar slaughterhouses operating now.