Last week the New York State Police arrested Gregg Marinelli, 38, of Plattekill, NY, on numerous weapons charges. Marinelli, who is a sergeant with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police, is accused of illegally manufacturing dozens of handguns and rifles, including at least one fully automatic rifle, and selling them to individuals who are legally barred from possessing such weapons. 

It is alleged that Marinelli assembled the guns in his Plattekill home and sold them to others, including members of outlaw motorcycle gangs and those with criminal convictions, sometimes delivering the illegal weapons using his marked police car.  Officials say many of the weapons sold by Marinelli were manufactured without serial numbers or had their serial numbers removed.  Such “ghost” guns are difficult to trace and are therefore often sought after by those planning to use the guns illegally. 

Members of the New York State Police, aided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, executed a search warrant at Marinelli’s home in Plattekill and recovered gun parts, tools used to manufacture weapons, and numerous firearms. State Police have also recovered 13 handguns and rifles which were manufactured and sold by Marinelli, police said in a statement. 

The investigation into Marinelli arose out of a recent drug trafficking case, dubbed “Operation Bread, White and Blues, which concentrated on two separate conspiracies, one involving cocaine trafficking by members and associates of self-professed “outlaw” motorcycle gangs, and a second involving the sale of narcotic pills. During that investigation, it was learned that Marinelli alerted a suspect that he was a target. Marinelli was not charged in that case, the statement says.

Marinelli is charged with Criminal Sale of a Firearm 2^nd  Degree; Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2^nd Degree, (as an accessory); Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3^rd Degree (as an accessory in the possession of a weapon he defaced); Manufacture/Disposition of a Weapon (for manufacturing numerous assault rifles); Conspiracy 4^th Degree, (for conspiring to sell a loaded and defaced .40 caliber pistol); and Hindering Prosecution 2^nd Degree (for alerting a suspect that he was the target of a police investigation). 

Marinelli is currently being held in the Orange County Jail in lieu of bail, which was set by the Town of Deerpark Court in the amount of $200,000 cash or $600,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on March 7.

Anyone who bought firearms from Gregg Marinelli are encouraged to call the New York State Police at (845) 344-5300 to surrender the weapons. Those who voluntarily surrender the weapons in this manner will not be prosecuted for their possession of the weapons, although they could be prosecuted for any crimes committed with the weapons.