A Manhattan corporate lawyer who fatally beat his girlfriend’s poodle tried to dodge prison Wednesday — by claiming he was messed up by being the the only Jewish kid at his boarding school.
Defense lawyer Gerald Lefcourt told the judge that his client, Anthony Pastor, was mercilessly tormented at the school and that his childhood was hell.
“All that has happened has been a tremendous punishment,” Lefcourt said of Pastor, who was convicted at trial of animal cruelty for repeatedly pummeling the pooch, Snoopy, into unconsciousness and eventual death.
“I ask the court for leniency. It’s a crucial time in his life, he has the opportunity to restore his relationship with his son,” said Lefcourt, who is one of three lawyers Pastor retained.
But Justice Robert Mandelbaum wasn’t swayed and slapped Pastor with the maximum two-year sentence in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“He has demonstrated a side of himself to those with whom he is close that conceals from them another extremely dangerous side, which he clearly possesses,” the judge said as Pastor’s mother gasped in the gallery.
Mandelbaum then blasted Pastor as “a terrible father, because in committing this act he has permanently and irrevocably damaged his son’s life.
“I feel terrible for Mr. Pastor’s son, but I also feel terrible for Snoopy, and I feel terrible for Miss Russell’s children who loved her and lost her,” the jurist said.
Taly Russell, 45, testified that she awoke at Pastor’s pad on Aug. 4, 2016, and found Snoopy’s lifeless body on the living room floor with a trail of feces behind her.
An animal autopsy revealed that the little pooch had nine broken ribs, a pulverized kidney and massive internal bleeding.
SnoopyThe judge said that the repeated blows “showed almost incomprehensible violence and malice.”
Snoopy was in “excruciating pain” until she lost consciousness, the judge said, and Pastor “sat down at his computer in the most cold-blooded manner and went to work knowing that the dog lay dying on the floor behind him.”
Mandelbaum ordered protective custody for Pastor, who has been in jail since his conviction May 9. He has received numerous death threats, according to a source. Pastor must also register on the animal-abuse registry.
During the disturbing one-week trial, Pastor’s ex-fiance testified that her beloved pooch, Molly, died in 2013 in chillingly similar circumstances to Snoopy — although he is not charged in that case.
The landlord of his Upper West Side brownstone, where both dogs met their demise, told jurors she witnessed him viciously beat Molly in the building’s vestibule.
Assistant District Attorney Tanisha Palvia asked for the maximum sentence, describing the crime as “unconscionable.”
Russell said in a statement, “None of this brings back Snoopy, our family dog, but hopefully, Snoopy’s untimely death can prevent others.”




