‘I lawfully purchased an American alligator’: Man sues state agency for ‘unfair’ seizure of his 750-pound reptilian friend after decades of regulatory compliance

Albert the alligator, on the left; Tony Cavallaro, on the right

Left: New York Department of Environmental Conservation officers secure an 11-foot alligator for transport (New York DEC via AP, File). Right: Tony Cavallaro holds a photo of his alligator, Albert, March 19, 2024 (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson, File).

It’s not easy being green amid the Empire State’s bogs of red tape. Now, an upstate New York man is suing environmental regulators to get his gargantuan reptile back.

Tony Cavallaro, 64, hails from the Erie County town of Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo. And, for the past 30-plus years, Cavallaro’s residence was home to a giant alligator as well.

Albert the alligator, 34, is currently far from home — at Gator Country Adventure Park in the far-off outskirts of the East Texas city of Beaumont. That’s where he was sent to live following a March raid by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation agents.

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