Puppy Mill Owner Still Behind Bars

Ever wonder what happened to Gloria Marriott - also known as Linda Snow or Mary Howard - the 63-year-old woman accused of running a puppy mill from the home she rented on Oslo Street in Mystic?

Public Defender Jennifer B. Nowack says Marriott accepted a plea offer in late spring that netted her a nine-month sentence, which she is currently serving out to its completion at York Correctional Institution in Niantic.

Five dogs were seized by Groton Town police in February, when Marriott was arrested. They have all been adopted.

However, the woman best known for being unknown, because she gave Groton Town Police the name Mary Howard when she was first arrested and remained a mystery woman before finally revealing her real name in court on - no lie - April Fool’s Day, is not likely to get out of prison soon.

“There will be no early release because she had a detainer in Massachusetts,” said Nowack. “A warrant from Massachusetts has to be served before she can be released.”

When Marriott’s Connecticut sentence ends in mid-November, she’ll be released into the custody of police in Massachusetts, where she is wanted for violating probation. Marriott, who went by the name Linda Snow in Massachusetts, was initially convicted of cruelty to animals because she ran a puppy mill in that state, too. Nowack says Marriott will face addition prison time in Massachusetts, but even that may not be the end of it.

Marriott may also be subject to federal charges because she misrepresented who she was, using false names in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. Nowack said Marriott, a Canadian national who has been living in the United States illegally for years, could face up to five years in prison if the feds decide to charge her.

That seems a particularly harsh sentence for misrepresenting her identity but, Nowack explained, the federal law was established post-9/11 with the intent of cracking down on terrorists who may enter the country illegally and use false identities to cover their tracks.