NYPD Detective Manufactured Ghost Guns, Amassed Small Army’s Worth Of Unregistered Weapons, Falsified Business Records, Committed Official Misconduct: DA McMahon

Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon Announces the Arrest & Indictment of Staten Island Man & NYPD Detective Alleged to Have Manufactured Ghost Guns, Falsified & Tampered with Public Records, & Caught with Massive Cache of Illegal & Unregistered Firearms

Anthony Sciortino, an NYPD Detective Assigned to Staten Island, is Alleged to Have Manufactured Multiple Ghost Guns & Untraceable Assault Weapons Over a Four-Year Period in Addition to Failing to Report the Possession of Firearms, Falsifying Business Records & Committing Official Misconduct in His Position as an NYPD Employee

Indicted Earlier This Week & Arraigned Today, a Search Warrant was Executed on Sciortino’s Residence Last Night Where 19 Unregistered Firearms Were Recovered Including Four Ghost Guns

Editor’s note: We’ve previously reported on cases from the District Attorney’s Office, including a school purchasing secretary who allegedly wrote checks to herself and paid fake vendors, and a case involving the smuggling of fentanyl into the prison system through laced court paperwork.  We also reported on the Fentanyl Overdose Task Force duties and responsibilities.  

On Wednesday, Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon announced the arrest and indictment of Anthony Sciortino, an active NYPD Detective assigned to Staten Island, for manufacturing ghost guns, failing to report multiple firearms within his possession, falsifying business records, and tampering with public records to make a false entry line of duty incident report. Sciortino has been a member of the NYPD since 2011 and is currently a Detective Third Grade assigned to the 120th Precinct on Staten Island. On Wednesday evening, a search warrant was executed on Sciortino’s Prince’s Bay residence which yielded 19 illegal firearms. The make, model, caliber and serial number of these firearms were never reported to the NYPD as is required by statute. Of the nearly two dozen unregistered firearms recovered during last night’s raid, four were untraceable ghost guns which did not bear serial numbers on the lower receivers.

“While all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Sciortino is alleged to have deceitfully amassed a small army’s worth of unregistered weapons in addition to personally manufacturing multiple unlicensed, unregistered, and untraceable ghost guns and assault weapons. Purposefully failing to report these firearms to the NYPD, these illegal and dangerous weapons could have exacted untold amounts of harm to our fellow Staten Islanders.

As Mr. Sciortino knows well, ghost guns are illegal, are incredibly difficult to track by law enforcement when used in the commission of a crime, and have no place on Staten Island,” said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. “Furthermore, Mr. Sciortino used and abused the public trust and betrayed his sworn oath to protect and serve by falsifying line of duty incident reports and using his position as an NYPD Detective to access personnel recordsfor unauthorized, unofficial, and nefarious purposes. Simply put, this brazen act of misconduct undermines the noble mission of law enforcement, weakens the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, and makes those we are sworn to protect and serve less safe.”

Mr. Sciortino was arraigned on the indictment filed against him earlier this morning before his arraignment in Criminal Court in relation to charges stemming from last night’s executed search warrant. While bail was requested in the amount of $50k cash/$150k bond, supervised release was set by the presiding judge over the people’s objection.

“Regardless of the office you serve or position you hold, no one is above the law on Staten Island, and my office is committed to prosecuting all egregious acts of government fraud and malfeasance in our borough,” added District Attorney McMahon. I would like to thank our partners in the NYPD and Internal Affairs Bureau for their heroic work and partnership throughout the course of this investigation and I commend Economic Crimes Bureau Chief Gregg Brown for his unwavering commitment to the rule of law and ensuring that those who fly flagrantly in the face of our State’s laws, including public servants who violate the public trust, are held accountable in the courtroom.”

The full list of charges filed against Mr. Sciortino can be found in the accompanying indictments and criminal complaints attached.

*An indictment is an accusatory instrument. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty*

Banner Image: Shooting range. Image Credit – Artem Kniaz

Michael McMahon