The Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau I created launches investigations every day to proactively find illegal weapons and prevent tragedies before they occur.
My office recently secured an indictment against two brothers after a six-month investigation led to the discovery of an arsenal of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ghost guns, including assault rifles, inside their Astoria apartment.
Instructions for making a variety of bombs, anarchist propaganda and a “hit list,” with “cops, judges, politicians, celebrities” and “banker scum” scrawled on it, were also found during a search of the home executed by my office, the NYPD, and our federal law enforcement partners.
We cannot measure the number of lives that were saved, but we do know that these weapons will never hurt anyone. The mere act of removing samples from these IEDs to submit for lab testing was a risky and dangerous endeavor for the NYPD bomb squad detectives. I applaud their heroic efforts in the execution of this search warrant.
My office will hold the defendants accountable as they each face up to 25 years in prison, if convicted.
The city is safer because of our constant vigilance to locate and prosecute those who manufacture ghost guns.
My top priority will always be keeping you and your loved ones safe.
In Friendship,
Melinda Katz
Queens District Attorney
