The Rutherford Police Department and the New Jersey State Police Street Gang Unit North executed a search warrant on the morning of March 21 that resulted in the seizure of ammunition and 35 guns, many of them illegal, from the apartment of 56-year-old Hastings Avenue resident Joseph Leone. The weapons included several handguns, an AK-47 and two Russian-made SKS assault weapons.
The search was the culmination of a state police investigation. State police began investigating Leone after receiving information from an arms dealer that Leone had purchased parts for an Uzi sub-machine gun. It is illegal to possess such a weapon in New Jersey but legal in other states, according to Garner.
Representatives from the state police contacted Rutherford Police about a week before the search, according to Garner. Officers from both agencies as well as the state police T.E.A.M.S. Unit and Canine Unit were also involved in the March 21 search.
Leone was charged with possessing and manufacturing machine guns and assault weapons and was transported to the Bergen County Jail on $50,000 with no 10 percent option. As of March 26, Leone had posted bail.
Leone had a curios and relics license, which allowed him to purchase certain antique weapons as well as a license for one handgun, according to Captain Joseph Merli of the Rutherford Police. A curios and relics license allows its holder to purchase and possess most weapons that predate 1946. However, the weapons must be kept essentially in their original condition and must not be modified or modernized. Though police didn’t specify whether any historical weapons had been modified, police found additional weapons parts among Leone’s collection.
New Jersey residents are required to obtain a firearms permit in order to own a weapon and an additional handgun purchase permit in order to buy a handgun. In order to obtain either permit, applicants must be finger-printed by the police, must have never been convicted of a crime, must have never been confined for a mental disorder, must not be alcohol- or drug-dependent and must not have any physical disorder or disease that would hinder their use of firearms. The permits are issued by the applicable town or state police authorities. A handgun purchase permit is only valid for 90 days and must be re-issued each time a resident wishes to buy a new handgun. However, there is no limit on the number of guns or handguns a New Jersey resident can own.
Licenses to purchase and own machine guns or assault weapons, such as the AK-47 or two SKS weapons Leone had, are only issued by the Superior Court and only after an investigation, recommendation and report by the county prosecutor.
State police wouldn’t answer how Leone had managed to purchase his weapons.
