State Supreme court upholds ruling on trainer's orangutans

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Thursday dismissed the appeal of an animal rights group that sought to seize nine orangutans from animal trainer-entertainer Bobby Berosini of Las Vegas who has been ordered to pay the organization more than $300,000.

The court upheld the decision of District Judge Valorie Vega that the orangutans were "tools of the trade" for Berosini and were exempt from execution of a judgment.

The case between Berosini and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has been in the court system nearly 10 years.

Berosini was playing at the Stardust hotel-casino in Las Vegas in the late 1980s with his animal act when PETA complained the orangutans were being beaten and mistreated. Berosini filed a slander suit and won a $4.2 million judgment in District Court in Las Vegas.

The Supreme Court overturned the judgment. The case returned to District Court in Las Vegas where PETA sought to collect from Berosini for lawyer and court costs on grounds it was the winner in the proceedings. PETA was awarded $144,000 in attorney fees and $228,625 in court costs.

Both Berosini and PETA appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. That appeal is still pending.

PETA, according to briefs filed in the court, said Berosini did not file a bond to secure the judgment during the court appeal. So it filed a motion in District Court in Las Vegas to get the animals.

PETA said the estimated $5,000 worth of the orangutans should be applied against the judgment on Berosini. It says it wants to put the orangutans in an animal sanctuary "because they are endangered species." It also sought to force Berosini to turn over his animals for a physical examination.

Berosini argued these animals were exempt from being seized and they were his "tools of the trade."

Judge Vega denied the PETA petition and ruled the orangutans were exempt from execution of a judgment because they were the "tools of the trade" for Berosini. The Supreme Court, in a two-page decision, agreed.

Berosini, in his court brief, claimed PETA was trying to harass him and put him out of work. At the time he said he was set to use the animals for tourist photo opportunities at the Tropicana hotel-casino.

PETA also claimed Berosini has tried to conceal his assets from any judgment, by sending them out of the country. It says after Berosini lost his $4.2 million judgment, he sent $680,000 in assets to Costa Rica and later another $1.2 million in pension funds to that country.

The assets, according to PETA, may have been later transferred to Panama. In addition, the animal rights organization said Berosini turned over his $185,000 home to his son, Bobby Berosini Jr., for $10.

PETA said Berosini's only attachable assets were the orangutans.

Neither Berosini nor a representative of PETA could be reached for comment. But Berosini's wife, Joan, said the court's decision Thursday was "wonderful news." She said the orangutans "were like family."

Berosini, she said, is still performing at conventions and special events with the animals. And she denied her husband tried to hide his assets overseas.

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