Posted on 03/03/2009 4:56:53 PM PST by Daffynition
Police pulled an arsenal of rifles, shotguns, handguns and ammo out of the Staten Island home of a 54-year-old man this morning, authorities said.
A small army of plainclothes and undercover police officers armed with a search warrant descended on the 864 Jewett Ave. home of Gary Granato, 54, this morning. Inside the Westerleigh residence, they found close to 80 firearms, and a hefty stash of ammo, authorities said.
Here's a photo gallery from the raid:
At this point, it's not clear why Granato had collected so many weapons, an NYPD spokesman said this afternoon. Police arrested him on weapons possession charges, but formal charges from District Attorney Daniel Donovan's office are still pending.
Several unmarked vehicles flanked the house this afternoon, while officers dressed mostly in plain clothes came and went. At about 1 p.m., they carried out five plastic crates of guns and ammo, at least two green metal ammunition boxes, at least four rifles, and a pump-action shotgun.
Despite the number of officers present, the gun operation appeared relatively low-key -- they stretched no yellow police tape outside, and for most of the morning, only a single marked police cruiser accompanied the unmarked cars.
Ask the man that just had his taken away.
I’m assuming the crime rate was low at the location.
Yep, the PC would be interesting in this one.
Of course, for the conspiracy theorists, it could just be the jackbooted thugs of the 0bama bureaucracy come a callin’...
But, at this point, it sounds like the guy had a good idea, IMO.
*********At this point, it’s not clear why Granato had collected so many weapons, an NYPD spokesman said this afternoon.*********
If he collected them legally, It’s nobody’s friggin business why he collected them.
Gee, good thing he didn’t have 20 flat panels or 20 computers.
A sign of things to come!
If this guy is NOT a felon and prohibited from owning any firearms, then he has the right to own as many guns as he can afford and doesn’t have to give anyone an explanation.
Just what are the “weapons charges”?
Why did they take his weapons in this land of the free and the home of the brave???? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Sue the s**t out of them.
“it’s not clear why Granato had collected so many weapons,”
Probably because guns are a sound investment these days. One of the few left.
It's also unclear why liberal idiots hate those with a large collection of guns. It's not like anyone could actually use more than two at a time, or carry more than say 5 or 6 at a time. A man with 80 guns cannot possibly do any more damage than a man with 8 guns. Beyond a half-dozen, there's no reason to fear... an din fact, someone with so many is far more likely to be a collector, and not one to use his arms illicitly, or in any manner that might scratch, dirty, or damage his investment.
Be grateful this guy isn't your state rep
"If someone has 20 guns, I’m not sure if I want to hire that person.”
When you read the comments you can really see the meaning of two Americas. For some of the commentors to that article you can tell the wussification is complete.
Also “80 guns”. Around here that guy would be a piker....j/k
He may have actually had an illegal weapon but I have seen several of these cases where the cops go in and confiscate a lot of guns just because the owner had what the cops thought was too many. No crime at all just too many makes it ok to confiscate them as he must be unbalanced, a terrorist etc.
“Just what are the “weapons charges”?”
Something to demonize him until they can trump up some real charges.
The comments following the article show that New York is a lost cause.
Time to kick them out of the Union.
In NYC, you need hard-to-get and expensive weapons permits. The guy took short cuts. The weird thing is that he could have moved a few miles across the Hudson to New Jersey and been able to accumulate just about anything he wanted with no hassle, and lower state taxes.
At this point, it's not clear why NYPD took so many of Granato's weapons. There is no indication of any violations of the law other than the theft of private property by overzealous police, and the absence of a justification stronger than "weapons charges" suggests that the official reason is too weak for public scrutiny.
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