HOPPING MAD
Lawyer out of his tree over theft of beloved frog
WHATEVER Lola wants . . . .
A Lower East Side woman is suing her ex-husband for $32,000 in alimony — for their pampered English bulldog, Lola.
When Sarah Bronilla and Joshua Rosen separated in 2012 after six years of marriage, Rosen, 39, agreed he would A LONG ISLAND lawyer is croaking foul over the loss of a beloved albino tree frog, who was snatched from his office this week and set free — to an uncertain fate.
A would-be client, Fernando Castro, is charged with petty larceny for the amphibian heist, and a secretary has lawyered up for her role in the pet’s pilfering.
It all has attorney Thomas Liotti hopping mad.
“Our entire office was devastated by the news,” Liotti said in a statement Friday. “It was an inexplicable act of cruelty.”
Liotti said Owen the African frog was a gift from another client over 20 years ago.
Owen became the mascot of Liotti’s Garden City, L.I., office, until Castro allegedly grabbed him Wednesday. pay Bronilla, also 39, $200 in monthly dogimony, she claims. Rosen also agreed to cover Lola’s food costs and half of her vet bills.
But the deadbeat dog dad has skipped out on his financial obligations, Bronilla alleges in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court. Bronilla, the CEO and founder of a PR firm named VOCAL NYC, says she’s
Castro had sought Liotti’s counsel over concerns that Frederick Brewington, his attorney for another matter, was taking too long with his case, according to statements produced by Nassau County detectives.
But Liotti was late for their 5 p.m. meetup. That’s when Owen’s fate would change forever.
“I thought he (Liotti) left for the day. I saw a fish bowl with a frog in it. I took the fish bowl with the frog and left the office with it,” Castro said, according had to cover $12,000 for upkeep, $18,000 for food and $2,335 in health costs for the pooch, described as “fawncolored” in the lawsuit.
In addition to the unpaid dogimony, Bronilla claims Rosen owes her around another $100,000 related to their settlement agreement, including money from a portion of a business he sold.
Rosen, co-founder of the Saturdays surf brand, could not immediately be reached. to the criminal complaint.
Liotti said video surveillance shows Castro leaving the Old Country Road office with Owen, who is valued at $900.
Castro then leaped over to Brewington’s law office on Peninsula Blvd. in Hempstead, L.I., the same night and gave Owen to a secretary there, according to his police statement.
“I spoke with Tammy the secretary. I informed her that I wanted to make a payment. I also told her I had a gift for Mr. Brewington. I showed her the frog and suggested the frog could replace the fish Mr. Brewington had lost due to it dying,” Castro allegedly told the cops.
But Tammy apparently took Owen to a nearby creek and released him.
The average life expectancy of an African albino tree frog is between 20 and 30 years, but Owen’s life may be cut short in his new environment.
“I do not really blame Brewington’s office,” Liotti said. “They, too, felt bad about it, but I think they should have waited and taken more steps to find out who the owner is.”
A receptionist who answered the phone at Brewington’s office declined to answer questions Friday but said, “I’m going to forward your request to my lawyer.”
Castro admitted what he did was wrong and apologized, according to police statements. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail.