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Joseph Palumbo Jr., a Columbia resident, carried out the illegal manufacture and sale of ghost guns between December 2023 and February 2024, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood said. He was originally apprehended in February during a traffic shop.
Palumbo Jr. sold the guns, the majority of which were assault firearms, in Morris and Warren Counties, authorities said. The sales involved one homemade handgun without a serial number, five homemade AR platformed assault firearms without serial numbers, and two large-capacity magazines, authorities said.
A search warrant at Palumbo Jr's home turned up a ghost gun manufacturing facility in his basement, authorities said. Additional searches recovered two additional homemade AR platformed assault firearms without serial numbers, approximately 36 additional firearms consisting of assault firearms and handguns, numerous firearms components used to manufacture firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and approximately three firearm silencers.
In May, Palumbo Jr. pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of an assault firearm and two counts of possession of a firearm without a serial number.
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