CHICAGO -- Mardin Azad Amin found himself in a tight squeeze last week when security at O'Hare Airport discovered a suspicious-looking object in his luggage.

So Amin, 29, handled the delicate situation this way: He told security the object was a bomb, Cook County prosecutors said.

The security guard then asked Amin to repeat what he'd said to a supervisor. This time, Amin was chuckling as he spoke, prosecutors said.

In fact, Amin was trying to disguise the fact that the black object -- resembling a grenade -- was a component for a penis pump.

All the same, Amin was charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in prison if convicted, said Andrew Conklin, a spokesman with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Amin is due in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, Conklin said.

Amin eventually told investigators he'd lied about the object's true use because his mother was standing nearby when the object was discovered and he didn't want her to know about it, Cook County assistant state's attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing last week.

The incident occurred Aug. 16 as Amin was set to catch a flight to Turkey, Scaduto said.

Amin has no known criminal history, Scaduto said.

Copyright 2006, Chicago Sun-Times Inc.