Mesquite doctor pleads guilty to alien smuggling

by Blair Lovern

In Great Falls, Montana, this past week, Dr. Lew M. Begley of Mesquite pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of attempted alien smuggling. A charge of false statements was dismissed.

This past January, Begley appeared in federal court through counsel on the false statements charge. He had been released on special conditions, since his arrest this past August at the U.S./Canada border. The U.S. attorney's office said that a passenger in Begley's car was reported to have AIDS. Under questioning, the man said he had lived in the U.S. illegally for the past 12 years. In January, Begley faced possible penalties of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Now let's play Did You Know This About Dr. Begley?!?!?!?!?!:

• He apparently has one of the largest collections of National Geographic magazines in the world.
• He's also one of the founding members of the Rainbow Garden Club, and has transformed his 10 acres of land into a gardener’s paradise.
• Irises are a specialty of Begley's. He is an accredited judge with the American Iris Society.
• At sentencing in Montana, Begley agreed to pay $10,000 rather than give up his 1999 Cadillac DeVille, reports the Canadian Press.
• Former model Jerry Hall lived in Mesquite and may or may not have seen the glorious Louisiana irises of Dr. Begley. But Hall set a world record in London by being in Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Blood Brothers and Anything Goes - all in the same night!
• Looks like we are totally out of fun facts for Dr. Lew M. Begley.