A Staten Island man mauled to death by a pit bull was eight months sober and visiting friends in the dog’s home when he was killed, his partner of 25 years told the Daily News
The pit bull, named Bean, was euthanized by Animal Care Centers of NYC on Monday as cops continue to investigate the attack, according to law enforcement sources.
Frank Monte, 59, was killed inside a friend’s home on New Dorp Lane near Weed Ave. in New Dorp when he was attacked about 4:05 p.m. Sunday, cops said. Covered in bloody dog bites, he died at the scene.
“He was getting his life together,” the victim’s partner, a 62-year-old woman who asked that her name be withheld, told the Daily News in an exclusive interview. “What happened to him with this dog is a tragedy.”
Police tranquilized the dog, a black pit bull named Bean, which was then handed off to Animal Care Centers, where workers ended up putting the dog down. No arrest has been made.
The victim, an ex-con, had an extensive criminal history with 37 arrests since 1990. He was most recently busted for grand larceny on April 25, cops said.
The city Medical Examiner will determine his exact cause of death. The initial autopsy was inconclusive. “More testing will be needed to determine how all the factors together contributed to the death,” a spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s office said.
Courtesy of family
Frank Monte, 59, was mauled to death by a dog at a home in New Dorp, Staten Island on Sunday. (Courtesy of family)
Monte had an hour to kill as he waited for a nearby pharmacy to fill his prescription for heart and cholesterol medication, his partner said.
“I don’t know if someone provoked the dog,” his partner said. “I don’t go near that house. I know of that house that is a troubled house.”
Police uncovered pills and drug paraphernalia at the house where Monte was killed during a raid last May that resulted in the arrest of 53-year-old Anthony Iovine, according to the Staten Island Advance.
The dog was owned by a woman living in the home’s basement, the victim’s partner said.
“(Frank) knows of the dog and he knew the dog bit,” she said. “He would not go up to that dog. I am in total shock. The dog has bitten other people.”
Courtesy of family
Frank Monte, 59, was mauled to death by a dog at a home in New Dorp, Staten Island on Sunday. (Courtesy of family)
A neighbor said that Monte appeared afraid of Bean when he visited in the past.
“You could tell (Frank) was nervous around the dog,” said the neighbor, who declined to share his name. “Everybody’s devastated.”
The victim’s only family was an aunt and his 96-year-old mother, who is in a nursing home with dementia, a friend of the victim’s said.
“He had a mom that he would see every Sunday,” said the friend, who gave his name as Bobby. “He would go on Sundays and Wednesday.”
Courtesy of family
Frank Monte, 59, was mauled to death by a dog at a home in New Dorp, Staten Island on Sunday. (Courtesy of family)
Bobby and Monte went through rehab together, leaving Bobby impressed by Monte’s dedication to getting clean. The two men currently attended an intensive outpatient program together focused on maintaining sobriety.
“He was serious about his recovery,” said Bobby. “We both moved up in the group because we had great attendance. We did the right thing. We participate.”
Monte made headlines in 2014 when he was sentenced to five years in prison for drug bust that year on the Staten Island Expressway. When a cop pulled over the 2011 Toyota Suburban he was traveling in for failing to signal, they found 531 envelopes of heroin in a plastic bag, the Staten Island Advance reported at the time.
He was also arrested for trying to sell 300 white plastic bags containing heroin in October 2013, police said Monday.
That sale was for $1,320 in cash, the New York Times reported. Monte pleaded guilty to felony drug possession but denied any involvement in the sale, telling the Times his previous prison stints for drug sales had biased the officers. “When you go to jail on Staten Island, you’re labeled for life with these cops,” he told the newspaper in 2014.
Monte was close to his partner’s 34-year-old disabled daughter, whom he treated like his own child. The family went on frequent cruises together.
“Frank was a good man,” his partner said. “He loved my daughter, took great care of her.”
“He has traveled with me around the world, taking care of my daughter,” she added. “I would trust nobody with my daughter, except Frank Monte.”
