CRYSTAL LAKE – Police confiscated an alligator, another crocodilian reptile known as a caiman, and a 12-foot snake from a Crystal Lake home after getting an anonymous tip.

Crystal Lake Police found the animals at the home of Anthony E. Bonfiglio, 35, 410 Linn Ave., shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday. Bonfiglio had been keeping the animals in cages in his basement. The police called McHenry County Animal Control officers and Illinois State Conservation Police for assistance.

State Conservation Police charged Bonfiglio with possession of a dangerous animal and possession of an endangered species, said Karen O’Brien, a prosecutor with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Bonfiglio is due in court Nov. 7.

In addition to the misdemeanor criminal charges, the owner was given two $100 fines for violations of the county’s exotic animal ordinance, said Debra Quackenbush, a spokeswoman for the McHenry County Department of Health.

The incident still is under investigation by Animal Control, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

No charges were filed on behalf of the Crystal Lake Police Department.

Authorities also found a domesticated white fox and seven turtles in the home, Quackenbush said. Those animals were not taken.

One of the crocodilian reptiles was 10 feet long. The other, estimated to be 20 years old, was nearly 5 feet long, Quackenbush said.

“The owner acquired the alligators at a swap meet,” she said. “But even if they are obtained legally, it’s illegal to have exotic animals.”

Officials gave different accounts as to the species of the reptiles. One was said to be an American alligator and the other a caiman. A caiman is similar to an alligator but has an armored underside.

Animal Control officers took the reptiles until a member of the Chicago Herpetological Society could pick them up, Quackenbush said.

The Chicago Herpetological Society gets anywhere from 10 to 50 crocodilian reptiles each year, society president Jason Hood said.

A member of the society with a state permit for exotic animals keeps them until they have enough to bring a truckload to a place that wants them, such as an alligator farm. The society tries to give them only to no-kill shelters, but that isn’t always possible, Hood said.