Cops: New Fairfield man found with numerous assault rifles

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NEW FAIRFIELD — When police interviewed Michael Giannone, a self-described “firearm specialist,” he told them his gun-making operation was run “by the books.”

But on his business card, he promised to have “all your AR needs” — a reference to assault rifles — with “no names, no numbers, no witnesses.”

Police also say he sold parts for assault rifle to an undercover cop without any paperwork.

The card and undercover deal were just two of the dozens of pieces of evidence police cited in saying Giannone illegally manufactured and sold assault rifles and handguns out of his home.

During a search in March of Giannone’s home and two cars, authorities found 59 complete firearms, 48 of which were legal, State Police said in a news release. The nine unregistered weapons were all assault rifles, including five AR-15s and two AK-47 rifles with no serial numbers, police said.

Authorities said they also found more than 10,000 live rounds of ammunition; 12 illegal AR-15 parts without serial numbers; 65 illegal high-capacity magazines; one rifle with an illegal silencer and two additional silencers.

Additionally, police seized several firearms components and parts, as well as records of firearms sales. An AR-15 rifle that had been sold to a drug dealer before the search warrant was also seized.

The raid took place about 9 a.m. on March 24, after detectives watched Giannone drop off his 9-year-old son at Meeting House Hill School, according to the release. He was pulled over after leaving the school and officers found a loaded handgun in his car, police said.

After police searched his home, they charged him with firearms trafficking, sale of assault weapons and other offenses.

The investigation resulted in a new arrest warrant, which a judge signed this week. Giannone was charged Tuesday with 65 counts of possession of high-capacity magazines, nine counts of possession of an assault weapon, three counts of possession of a silencer and one count each of improper storage of firearms, possession of a weapon on school grounds and risk of injury to a minor.

Connecticut banned new sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown.

Giannone, 44, was held on $100,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in state Superior Court in Danbury. He could not be reached for comment.

The suspect told state police he made weapons and sold them at gun shows and that everything was done “by the book,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

“If I can make, you know, money on something, I’ll buy it and, you know, flip it and sell it,” Giannone told investigators, according to the affidavit. “I owned a restaurant for 10 years. I lost everything. I mean, I’m like on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Giannone owned Bella Ellas Pizzeria in Croton Falls, N.Y., according to a LinkedIn profile.

Police said firearms and ammunition found at his home were not secured, including a loaded handgun on a kitchen counter.

The findings prompted police to notify the state Department of Children and Families, but it was not clear Tuesday whether the agency took any action.

Also during the search, police found a United States Postal Service package on the driveway with new AR-15 gun parts, according to the release.

The investigation was conducted by the State Police Statewide Urban Violence and Cooperative Crime Control Task Force in partnership with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the State Police Special Licensing and Firearms Unit and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

noliveira@hearstmediact.com