New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch today announced a 71-count indictment charging Lawrence Destefano, of Orlando, Florida with shipping firearms, ghost guns, and firearm parts and accessories to New York. An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) recovered approximately 12 firearms, two ghost gun kits, 28 high-capacity magazines, and over 1,400 rounds of ammunition, which were mailed to locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County. Destefano is the owner and operator of the gun retailer Indie Guns, which Attorney General James separately sued in June 2022 for selling tens of thousands of illegal, unfinished firearm parts to New Yorkers that were assembled into untraceable handguns and assault-style weapons. In March 2024, Attorney General James secured a $7.8 million judgment and court order against Indie Guns prohibiting it from selling firearms in New York.
“Untraceable ghost guns put New Yorkers in danger and enable those who are barred from owning guns to obtain deadly weapons,” said Attorney General James. “Lawrence Destefano and his company Indie Guns are accused of flooding New York with illegal firearms, and we are determined to bring him to justice. I will not tolerate illegal and dangerous weapons in our communities, and I thank our partners in law enforcement for their work to shut down this ghost gun supplier.”
“This case is a stark reminder of the threat that untraceable ghost guns pose to New Yorkers, and the great lengths traffickers will go to evade law enforcement,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “Lawrence Destefano and his Indie Guns company showed a blatant disregard for public safety when they allegedly sold and deceptively shipped illegal firearms and components into our city. Now, because of the relentless work of NYPD investigators, this iron pipeline has been shut down and those responsible are being held accountable. I thank the Office of the Attorney General and its Organized Crime Task Force, as well our federal partners, for their strong collaboration in disrupting and dismantling gun trafficking networks that threaten our communities.”…