‘DOGNAP’ DRAMA
Ransom demand 1G: cops
An elderly Austrian baroness got royally screwed by a rogue dog trainer who took her prized pooch hostage and demanded $1,000 for its return, cops said.
Elvira Esterhazy, 89, who lives on the Upper East Side, got the threat after entrusting her Australian cattle dog, Shadow, to Ivan Olivera, who portrayed himself as a sort of dog whisperer who could cure the animal’s behavior issues, according to police.
The aristocrat — who holds the title Baroness de Kolb-Wartenburg through marriage to her late husband, artist Eric de Kolb — agreed to a deal in which Olivera would teach Shadow manners for free in return for Esterhazy teaching the trainer English.
Olivera walked Shadow a few times. But on Aug. 31, the deal went south when Olivera, 39, absconded with the dog and refused to return him unless Esterhazy coughed up $1,000, prosecutors allege. He also threatened to harm Esterhazy if his demand wasn’t met, according to cops. “I trusted him,” the octogenarian said. “I saw then that I had to call the police.”
Cops came to Shadow’s rescue on Sept. 1 and cuffed Olivera for attempted grand larceny by extortion and resisting arrest.
Olivera, who was released without bail at his arraignment, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment at his White Plains home.
Esterhazy, meanwhile, is overjoyed that her furry friend has been returned.
She’s disappointed thought that Olivera failed to break Shadow — who is a rescue dog — of his aggression toward other canines.
“He’s friendly to pet. He’s friendly to people. The only thing he doesn’t like is he’s ex- tremely aggressive to other dogs,” she said. “He was on death row [before being adopted]. When I saw the picture, I thought it was a shame that he should be put down.”
The baroness also wondered how hard up Olivera would have to have been to turn to pet ransom.
“He must be very badly off to do something like that,” she said. “To do that? To kidnap [a dog for] ransom? That’s when you are broke.”