83°
David Phillip Ryan, 50, of Miami, Florida, and 57-year-old Carlos Quirola-Ordonez — also known as Julio Antonio Gonzalez and “Manny” — are each charged with one count of conspiring to transport stolen firearms.
Ryan is also charged with one count of transporting stolen property in interstate commerce.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said federal agents got a tip in April 2012 that “valuable firearms allegedly belonging to members of the family of the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein were available for sale.
“The weapons were kept in Florida while attempts were made by Ryan, Quirola-Ordonez and others to find buyers in New Jersey,” Fishman said.
“During the course of the conspiracy, seven firearms – which were appraised as a collection to be worth between $250,000 to $350,000 – were shipped to New Jersey for viewing by potential buyers,” he said.
Fishman said agents seized:
One Coonan Arms Inc., .357 semi-automatic pistol, nickel finish, made in St. Paul, Minn., with gold inlay and a medallion “QS” on left side grip (believed to be the initials of Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti, the second son of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein);
One Korth, .357 magnum revolver (six shot) stamped “Made in W. Germany Waffenfabrik Koth Ratzeburg/LBG,” with gold inlay, black finish, wood grips, which displays a drawing of a wild boar;
One Korth, .357 magnum, revolver (six shot) stamped “Made in W. Germany Waffenfabrik Koth Ratzeburg/LBG,” with gold inlay, black finish, wood grips, which displays a drawing of a moose;
One Chinese State Factories type 64 pistol, .32 caliber semi-auto pistol, black finish, with Yemen flag icon on both sides of grip and Arabic writing on the slide;
Two Cosmi, 12 gauge shotguns, break top, single barrel;
One Llama Semiautomatic .45 ACP pistol with gold leaf and gold inlays, hand engraved, bearing the initials “QS”
Ryan and Quirola-Ordonez and two others were originally charged by complaint with related offenses, Fishman said. The other two, Howard Blumenthal and Karlo Sauer, have pleaded taken plea deals and are awaiting sentencing pending the cases against Ryan and Quiroa-Ordonez.
Fishman credited agents of the ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
The case is being handled by Joyce M. Malliet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bergenfield and receive free news updates.
