A Queens man killed an alley cat and now faces up to two years behind bars.
Richard Ferrugio, 51, of Ozone Park, used a tire iron to fatally beat the homeless black-and-white cat after it supposedly scratched his arm outside Neir’s Tavern, where he’s a regular, in February 2012.
Ferrugio told cops he gave the animal one swipe with the tool, but then “I saw the cat shaking and in misery, so I didn’t want to let the cat suffer anymore.”
But several bar patrons testified that they yelled at him as they watched him beat the creature to death.
He was convicted yesterday and was ordered held without bail until his July 12 sentencing.