A veteran NYPD detective was busted this week for manufacturing ghost weapons – and stashing “a small military’s value” of unregistered weapons inside his Staten Island dwelling, prosecutors stated Wednesday.
Det. Third Grade Anthony Sciortino, 35 – a 13-year veteran now assigned to the division’s one hundred and twentieth Precinct – was arrested Tuesday and arraigned on a 16-count indictment, with allegations relationship again to 2020, the Richmond County District Legal professional’s Workplace stated.
Throughout a raid of Sciortino’s Prince’s Bay dwelling, officers discovered 19 unlawful firearms – together with a machine gun and an assault weapon, in line with prosecutors.
4 of the weapons have been untraceable ghost weapons with out serial numbers on their decrease receivers, the DA’s workplace stated.
Sciortino additionally allegedly didn’t report the make, mannequin, caliber and serial variety of the opposite 15 weapons to the NYPD inside 10 days of acquiring them – which is required by legislation, officers stated.
“Purposefully failing to report these firearms to the NYPD, these unlawful and harmful weapons might have exacted untold quantities of hurt to our fellow Staten Islanders,” District Legal professional Michael E. McMahon stated in an announcement.
“As Mr. Sciortino is aware of nicely, ghost weapons are unlawful, are extremely troublesome to trace by legislation enforcement when used within the fee of a criminal offense, and don’t have any place on Staten Island.”
Sciortino additionally allegedly used “his place as an NYPD detective to entry personnel information for unauthorized, unofficial, and nefarious functions,” the DA charged.
Sciortino faces raps together with manufacture of weapons and harmful devices and home equipment; failure to report the sale or registration of a firearm; falsifying enterprise information; and pc trespass, in line with the indictment.
Prosecutors requested that he be held on $50,000 money or $150,000 bond at his arraignment Wednesday — however Decide John McPadden as a substitute granted him supervised launch.
Sciortino joined the NYPD in July of 2011 and ascended to the rank of detective in December of 2017, division information present.
He was suspended with out pay following his arrest, an NYPD spokesperson stated. He’s due again in court docket Jan. 16, information present.
“Whereas all defendants are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible, Mr. Sciortino is alleged to have deceitfully amassed a small military’s value of unregistered weapons along with personally manufacturing a number of unlicensed, unregistered, and untraceable ghost weapons and assault weapons,” McMahon stated.
“Merely put, this brazen act of misconduct undermines the noble mission of legislation enforcement, weakens the general public’s belief within the prison justice system, and makes these we’re sworn to guard and serve much less protected.”
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