A Central Park carriage driver is facing animal-cruelty charges for working a horse with an injured leg for four days, police said.
A police officer stopped Saverio Colarusso in the park Wednesday night after noticing the horse appeared to be distressed.
The horse’s owner has suspended Colarusso pending the outcome of the investigation, an industry spokeswoman said. She says a veterinarian thinks the horse’s thrush infection will clear up soon.
Colarusso has been charged in the past with drinking on the job and driving his horse during unauthorized hours, the New York Times reports.
Colarusso’s lawyer didn’t return a phone message seeking comment.