Ex-Playboy Employee Convicted of Smuggling Exotic Bird Eggs
A former Playboy mansion animal keeper charged with helping run a $1-million Australian cockatoo egg theft ring was convicted Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court on three smuggling-related charges.
Theodora Swanson, 35, was found guilty of conspiracy, smuggling and attempted import of wildlife taken in violation of foreign law. She was ordered by Judge David V. Kenyon to return Sept. 11 for sentencing.
Swanson could face up to 15 years in prison plus a $750,000 fine.
But because Swanson has no other criminal record, “I anticipate her sentencing range will be substantially less than the statutory maximum,” said Daniel Goodman, an assistant U.S. attorney who helped prosecute the case.
Swanson was accused of helping boyfriend William Wegner run a smuggling ring composed primarily of former high school friends from New Paltz, N.Y., between 1989 and 1991 when the pair lived in Malibu.
Thieves climbed trees in the Australian outback, took the eggs from their nests, then sneaked them into the United States.
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