An animal-control officer had 850 snakes at his home, where he ran an illegal side business selling the snakes, according to local police.
The snakes, which included two 6-foot Burmese pythons, are worth half a million dollars. Police found the snakes in a detached garage at the home of Richard Parrinello.
Burmese pythons are illegal in New York state according to the Associated Press.
"There is a reason why Burmese pythons are illegal," said Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross, according to the Associated Press.
Gross referenced the deaths of two boys in Canada who were killed by an African rock python as they slept in earlier this year.
Burmese pythons can grow up to 30-feet-long.
Parrinello has worked as an animal-control officer for Brookhaven, N.Y. off and on since 1988, according to town spokesman Jack Krieger.
Police said they saw the snakes during an investigation into whether or not Parrinello was working while on disability leave from his job.
Investigators caught Parrinello on camera saying he had over $500,000 in inventory, meaning snakes, turtles, and turtle eggs, stored in a garage he'd turned into a habitat space, according to the Associated Press.
Parrinello now faces multiple charges of owning the snakes and violating town laws by running a business at his house without a permit. He was given two violations by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.
The pythons will be transported to an animal sanctuary in Massachusetts.
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