"Those bulges in my pants aren't lizards, sir"

I was doing some geneological research and found this old news brief (hee hee -- I'm FUNNY). My gosh!!

December 9, 2000
Man who hid lizards in underwear fined
LAS VEGAS -- A 31-year-old Las Vegas man found at the airport with lizards in his underwear was fined $500 and sentenced to three years' probation for smuggling.

Don D. Astorga, an auto detailer and reptile collector, offered no explanation before or after sentencing yesterday about being found with nine dead and three live lizards in his crotch at McCarran International Airport.

Two of the lizards were monitors -- a federally protected species.

But Astorga protested U.S. District Judge Philip Pro's order that he let federal probation and Fish and Wildlife officers check his Las Vegas home without a warrant for protected or endangered species.

Astorga was arrested June 9, 1999, at the airport by a Las Vegas police detective who later testified he became suspicious about strange bulges in Astorga's crotch.

A voluntary search turned up 12 young lizards and an egg wrapped in tube socks. The longest of the animals was about 12 inches, police said. The three that survived the airplane trip later died.

Associated Press