MARTINEZ — An Oakley man tried to dupe his probation officer by using a synthetic penis dubbed a Whizzinator to pass a drug test, according to sheriff’s records.
Ryan Marino, 32, is being held without bail on charges of battery and vandalism, as well as a probation violation, according to jail records. He was taken into custody Aug. 11 after a probation officer “discovered (Marino) was wearing a fake penis attached to a bladder of synthetic urine commonly known as a ‘Whizzinator,’ ” according to the police report.
Synthetic urine — and also clean human urine from a third party — is sometimes used by people who are afraid they would otherwise fail a drug test. Marino’s arrest records do no indicate whether he took a subsequent drug test.
Whizzinator, the company referenced in the police report, has a website that features kits of synthetic penises in a spectrum of skin colors, along with batches of synthetic urine and rubber tubes, for $139.95. They are advertised as sex toys, not as a means of passing a drug test, but can also be used in drug tests where the testers must watch the subject urinating, such as probation drug tests.
During probation checks, an officer will watch subjects urinate into a cup, using mirrors to make sure no synthetic urine is used.
This is not the first time a Whizzinator has come up in media reports. Rapper Young Buck, best known for his role in the group G-Unit, was caught using “a plastic bag secured under his clothes with a tube to deliver a stream of urine” that was “not his own in an effort to conceal his use and possession of marijuana,” according to court records. He pleaded guilty to falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact by a trick, scheme or device and was sentenced to 18 months of probation in August 2015.
And last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that a 35-year-old man was charged with attempting to defraud a drug test after being caught using a Whizzinator device.
Marino is not facing additional charges, but Contra Costa Deputy District Attorney Doug Macmaster said anyone who uses a fake penis to pass a probation drug test will violate the terms of probation. Macmaster said he was baffled by the tactic, saying he’s never heard of a fake penis being used “in all my 32 years working in the criminal justice.”
But county probation chief Todd Billeci said his officers encounter them once in a while.
“I would definitely not say it’s a systemic problem, but it is a problem that arises on occasion. It’s a pretty rare occasion,” Billeci said, later adding it was possible more people were using them successfully.
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Contact Nate Gartrell at 925-779-7174 or follow him at Twitter.com/NateGartrell.
