Pubdate: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX) Copyright: 2002 San Antonio Express-News Contact: http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384 Author: Ihosvani Rodriguez, San Antonio Express-News OFFICERS BECOME WHIZZES AT FAKERY By the time Carlos Dienno took a court-mandated drug test last year, word had already leaked out to his probation officer about "The Whizzinator." Two weeks before Dienno's June 17 appointment, court officials had caught an 18-year-old college student wearing a prosthetic device attached to a heat-controlled pouch of synthetic urine. On the alert, a probation officer noticed something didn't seem natural as Dienno was relieving himself. "He obviously didn't know we were more conscious and aware of the Whizzinator and that we were looking a bit more closely," Chief Probation Officer Caesar Garcia said. Dienno on Friday pleaded guilty to the rare Class B misdemeanor charge of falsification of a drug test result. He was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. Bexar County officials said they now want to focus on the California-based manufacturer who makes the device that is primarily used to cheat on drug tests. "It's not so much about the person who uses it, but it's about the airline pilot who has a drug problem, or the nuclear plant employee and you can go on and on with others whose employment could put the public's safety in danger," Assistant District Attorney Tony Reyes said. Whizzinator company officials could not be reached for comment late Friday. In prior interviews, a co-owner, who gave his name only as Dennis, said the 3-year-old product is designed to be used lawfully by people who want to keep information about their bodies private. Dienno, who was on probation for possession of a controlled substance, is the second person in Bexar County to be convicted of using the $149 gadget, which comes in four skin tones. The other person, Ruben Escamilla Jr. was also handed the maximum sentence. "The thing with (Escamilla) was that he wasn't even using the right shade of color," Garcia said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek