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Patrick Polidore, age 32, was arraigned in federal court on Long Island Wednesday, Sept. 28 in Central Islip on an 11-count indictment alleging that he and co-defendant Dennis Wolfolk, age 29, illegally brought 27 handguns into the state.
Wolfolk is in federal custody in Georgia and will be brought to the Eastern District of New York for arraignment at a later date, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Federal prosecutors said between October 2020 and January 2021, Polidore visited numerous retailers and acted as a straw purchaser of the guns, falsely claiming he was the actual buyer on federal records that document firearms transactions.
Instead, prosecutors said, he was actually conspiring with Wolfolk, a convicted felon who was legally barred from possessing firearms, to traffic the weapons to New York and distribute them to street buyers.
At least 11 of the guns brought to New York were later recovered by police at crime scenes around Long Island, prosecutors said.
A 9mm Ruger handgun purchased by Polidore was recovered in January 2021 during a traffic stop in Hempstead. The gun was linked to an earlier shooting in Uniondale in November 2020 in which suspects fired shots at cars, police said.
In October 2021, police in Bethpage arrested a suspect fleeing the scene of an armed robbery. The suspect was found with a .40 caliber Smith & Wessen handgun that was also purchased by Polidore, according to prosecutors.
The gun was later linked to a shooting in Hempstead in December 2020.
Investigators said the whereabouts of at least 16 other firearms purchased by Polidore are unknown.
“Straw purchasers undermine federal laws and enable violent criminals to obtain firearms that destroy lives and devastate communities,” said John Devito, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“We will use every resource to save lives and stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities.”
So far this year, police in Nassau County have seized 272 weapons, 79 more than at this point last year, according to District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
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