A Staten Island man who ran an illegal trapping business was arrested for animal cruelty after he left several raccoons in a cage to die of starvation, authorities said.
Simone Saracino, 62, allegedly trapped the critters back on Aug. 1 and let them slowly suffer for more than 96 torturous hours without food or water.
After most of the animals died, Saracino strapped the wire cage to the roof of his vehicle and transported them in inclement weather to an Animal Care and Control facility on Aug. 4.
When AC&C staff saw the condition of the mistreated animals, they reported him to police.
He was arrested Friday and given a desk appearance ticket.
Saracino, who does not have a license to handle wildlife, was charged with one count of torturing, injuring and not feeding animals and one count carrying animals in a cruel manner — both misdemeanor charges.
The twisted trapper is believed to have captured dozens of other raccoons over an unspecified period of time and brought them to the AC&C facility to be euthanized, police sources said.