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David Bibler, 55, of Haddon Heights produced fully automatic pistols and rifles, as well as silencers while ex-con Francis Hillsee, 36, of Mount Laurel priced and sold them, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
Hillsee also sold boxes of ammunition, she said.
Bibler had eight firearms, including rifles and pistols, as well as firearm manufacturing equipment, explosive powder, and a large amount of ammunition when he was arrested at his home, Honig said.
Together, he and Hillsee manufactured and sold 12 guns, including two fully automatic pistols and one fully automatic rifle, along with a silencer, the U.S. attorney said.
Federal authorities charged both men with conspiring to manufacture and distribute firearms without a license and possession of a machinegun.
Hillsee also was charged with unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon.
A U.S. magistrate judge in Camden ordered Bibler detained. Hillsee already was jailed because of an unrelated incident and will have a first appearance in federal court scheduled, Honig said.
The case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s “signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws,” the U.S. attorney said.
Honig credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Camden Field Office of the Newark Field Division, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration Camden Resident Office, the New Jersey State Police and police from Gloucester Township, Haddon Heights, Mount Laurel and Gloucester City with the investigation leading to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisa Shver of her Criminal Division in Camden is handling the case for the government.
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