A New York City police detective has been arrested and accused of amassing a small arsenal of unregistered firearms, prosecutors said.
The detective, Anthony J. Sciortino, was taken into custody after a search of his Staten Island home Tuesday produced 19 unregistered weapons, including several so-called ghost guns: firearms without serial numbers that are sold in parts and can be assembled by an unlicensed buyer.
Mr. Sciortino faces 17 charges that include manufacturing dangerous weapons, official misconduct, falsifying business records and tampering with public records, according to an unsealed indictment.
A 13-year veteran of the New York Police Department, Mr. Sciortino pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in the Richmond County courtroom of Judge John N. McPadden before being released. He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 16.
“Regardless of the office you serve or position you hold, no one is above the law on Staten Island,” said Michael E. McMahon, the Richmond County district attorney.
Mr. Sciortino, 35, is a detective in the 120th Precinct, on the north shore of Staten Island. A spokeswoman for the Police Department said he had been suspended. His lawyer, Maria R. Guastella, declined to comment on the case.
According to the indictment, Mr. Sciortino acquired four ghost guns lacking serial numbers and 15 other guns, including a purple Glock and a powerful AM-15, over a four-year period. Prosecutors said he did not report having the weapons to the Police Department, which requires all officers to disclose the firearms they own within 10 days of acquiring them.
Mr. Sciortino is also accused of improperly accessing personnel records and providing false information in various reports.
His arrest comes at a time of mounting uncertainty for the city’s police force. Last week, Mayor Eric Adams named Jessica S. Tisch the newest head of the department following the resignation of Edward A. Caban in September and the appointment of an interim commissioner, Thomas Donlon. Both men are under the scrutiny of federal investigators.
In taking the role, Ms. Tisch, formerly the sanitation commissioner, must address a growing list of problems, including a shrinking police force, an increasing number of assaults and rapes, and a scathing report in September from a federal judge that said that police leaders had failed to punish officers who abused the stop-and-frisk practice.
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