NYPD Staten Island detective built ‘ghost gun’ arsenal, doctored police reports: prosecutors

An NYPD detective from Staten Island manufactured an arsenal of “ghost guns,” falsified reports astir line-of-duty constabulary incidents, and accessed NYPD records for “nefarious” reasons, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Anthony Sciortino, 35, a 13-year NYPD seasoned assigned to Staten Island’s 120th Precinct, was deed with a 17-count indictment Wednesday, a time aft constabulary raided his Prince’s Bay location and recovered 19 amerciable firearms, prosecutors connected Staten Island said.

Sciortino — who was arrested successful transportation with the raid — ne'er registered those guns with the NYPD, arsenic he’s required to by law. Plus, 4 of them were untraceable, alleged ghost guns with nary serial numbers, prosecutors said.

The indictment doesn’t item however investigators learned of his amerciable arms cache, which helium started gathering arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2020, erstwhile helium created a instrumentality weapon and an battle rifle, prosecutors allege.

The make-them-yourself weapons are dubbed shade guns due to the fact that they’re fundamentally untraceable —made retired of 3D-printed pieces and parts that are often bought online.

Ghost guns. (Ed Reed/NYC Mayor’s Office)

“While each defendants are presumed guiltless until proven guilty, Mr. Sciortino is alleged to person deceitfully amassed a tiny army’s worthy of unregistered weapons, successful summation to
personally manufacturing aggregate unlicensed, unregistered and untraceable shade guns and battle weapons,” Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said Wednesday.

Sciortino besides “used and abused the nationalist trust” by falsifying line-of-duty incidental reports and accessing unit records for “unofficial and nefarious purposes,” according to prosecutors.

The indictment doesn’t picture the quality of the falsified reports oregon connection much details connected who helium was accessing records astir and why.

Sciortino was arraigned successful Staten Island Supreme Court Wednesday. Prosecutors asked that helium beryllium held connected $50,000 currency bail oregon $150,000 bond, but Judge John McPadden ordered him chopped escaped connected supervised release, implicit prosecutors’ objections.

Sciortino’s lawyer, Maria Guastella, did not instantly instrumentality a connection seeking remark Wednesday.

It’s not wide if the detective’s apprehension volition impact immoderate cases helium helped physique connected Staten Island.

“We’re going to bash a afloat reappraisal of cases involving the defendant,” said McMahon spokesperson James Clinton. “We’re going to bash our owed diligence.”