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Plattekill resident Gregg Marinelli, was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 28, following an investigation into the illegal manufacturing of weapons in the Hudson Valley, including dozens of handguns and assault rifles, including one fully automatic weapon.
New York State Police investigators said that it is alleged Marinelli assembled the guns in his Plattekill homeland then sold them for profit, including to members of outlaw motorcycle groups and others with criminal convictions. When delivering the weapons, Marinelli allegedly used his marked police car.
Investigators noted that many of the weapons sold by Marinelli were “ghost” guns, which were manufactured without serial numbers or that had the serial numbers removed.
State Police troopers, and members of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives search Marinelli’s Hudson Valley home and recovered gun parts, tools used to manufacture weapons, and numerous firearms. State Police have also recovered 13 handguns and assault rifles from others which were manufactured and sold by Marinelli.
According to police, the investigation into Marinelli came when he was linked to motorcycle clubs during “Operation Bread, White and Blues,” which concentrated on two conspiracies involving cocaine and prescription pill distribution. During the investigation into the drugs, it was determined that Marinelli alerted a suspect that he was a target. Marinelli was not charged in that case.
Marinelli, 38, was arrested and charged with:
- Criminal sale of a firearm;
- Criminal possession of a weapon (as an accessory);
- Criminal possession of a weapon (as an accessory in the possession of a weapon he defaced);
- Manufacturing/disposition of a weapon (for manufacturing numerous assault rifles);
- Conspiracy (for conspiring to sell a loaded and defaced .40-caliber pistol), and;
- Hindering prosecution (for alerting the suspect that he was the target of a police investigation.
Marinelli is currently being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $200,000 cash bail or $600,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 7 to respond to the charges.
New York State Police officers are encouraging anyone who purchased a weapon from Marinelli to call investigators at (845) 344-5300 to surrender the guns. They noted that “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.”
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