A veteran NYPD detective was arrested this week on charges of manufacturing a ghost gun and concealing a “small military equivalent” of unregistered weapons inside his Staten Island home, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Det. According to the Richmond County District Attorney's Office, Anthony Sciortino, 35, a 13-year veteran currently assigned to the department's 120th Precinct, was arrested Tuesday on charges dating back to 2020. It was announced that he had been arraigned on the indictment.
Prosecutors said officers found 19 illegal firearms during a search of Sciortino's Prince's Bay home, including machine guns and assault weapons.
Four of the weapons were untraceable ghost guns with no serial numbers on their lower receivers, according to the DA's office.
Sciortino also failed to report the make, model, caliber and serial number of 15 other guns to the NYPD within 10 days of acquiring them, as required by law, authorities said. said the person.
“By intentionally failing to report these firearms to the NYPD, these illegal and dangerous weapons caused untold harm to our fellow Staten Islanders,” District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said in a statement. There is a possibility.”
“As Mr. Sciortino well knows, ghost guns are illegal, extremely difficult for law enforcement to track down if used in a crime, and have no place on Staten Island.”
Sciortino also “used his position as an NYPD detective to access personnel records for unauthorized, unofficial and nefarious purposes,” the prosecutor's office said.
Sciortino is facing charges that include manufacturing weapons and dangerous instruments and devices. Failure to report firearm sales or registrations. Falsification of business records. computer intrusion, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors asked him to be held on $50,000 cash or $150,000 bail at Wednesday's arraignment, but Judge John McPadden granted him supervised release instead.
Sciortino joined the NYPD in July 2011 and was promoted to detective in December 2017, according to department records.
A New York City Police Department spokesperson said he was suspended without pay following his arrest. He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 16, records show.
“Although all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Sciortino personally manufactured multiple unlicensed, unregistered and untraceable ghost guns and assault weapons,” McMahon said. In addition, he is alleged to have fraudulently amassed a small army's worth of unregistered weapons.”
“Simply put, this brazen misconduct undermines the noble mission of law enforcement, undermines public trust in our criminal justice system, and makes the people we are sworn to protect and serve less safe.” .”
