Coram resident, who purchased pyrotechnics in Pennsylvania, is caught by the police here
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Long Island man loaded his minivan with fireworks during a buy-one, get-one-free sale in Pennsylvania, then became the NYPD's biggest catch so far this year when he crossed onto Staten Island yesterday afternoon, according to Vice Squad detectives.
The cops said they followed suspect Paul Giglio, 44, from an Easton, Pa., fireworks store to the Staten Island Expressway, where they pulled him over in the eastbound lanes as he passed the South Avenue exit.
They found enough fireworks in his Mazda MPV to ignite a Chinese New Year celebration.
"Basically, everything you can imagine," said Detective Bill McLaughlin, as he and other officers unloaded the impounded van outside the North Shore's 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George yesterday afternoon.
Among the dozens of boxes of pyrotechnics stuffed into Giglio the van were bottle rockets, mortars and Roman candles, sporting names like "Molotov Cocktail" and "Operation Phantom Fury." The detectives estimated the haul at $2,500.
Giglio, a resident of Coram, Suffolk County, will likely be arraigned today in Stapleton Criminal Court on a charge of unlawfully dealing with fireworks, after he spends a night in a stationhouse cell, law enforcement sources said.
His arrest is part of the NYPD's stepped-up efforts to stop fireworks from entering the city and wreaking havoc during the Fourth of July holiday.
Last year, in Staten Island alone, authorities jailed 20 people for fireworks-related incidents and issued 190 criminal summonses and 101 Environmental Control Board summonses.
Police have traced the source of most of that contraband to fireworks outlets in Pennsylvania. Although fireworks cannot be bought by Pennsylvania residents and are illegal to use in the state, a legal loophole added in 2004 allows distributors to sell to anyone who can prove he or she lives outside the state.
The loophole compelled the NYPD to send undercover agents to stores more than 70 miles away, where they stake out parking lots and tail buyers until they cross state lines. The operation, which began last year, nabbed 53 people in 46 separate busts, and resulted in the confiscation of 18 vehicles for forfeiture in Staten Island by July 2.
Citywide, more than 200 people were arrested on charges of fireworks possession and trafficking during the same period.
Said one law enforcement source about the undercover operation: "The idea is to get them before they can get the stuff here. If we wait until the Fourth of July, it's too late."
Peter N. Spencer is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at spencer@siadvance.com.
Found it here : http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/117992172594210.xml&coll=1
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Long Island man loaded his minivan with fireworks during a buy-one, get-one-free sale in Pennsylvania, then became the NYPD's biggest catch so far this year when he crossed onto Staten Island yesterday afternoon, according to Vice Squad detectives.
The cops said they followed suspect Paul Giglio, 44, from an Easton, Pa., fireworks store to the Staten Island Expressway, where they pulled him over in the eastbound lanes as he passed the South Avenue exit.
They found enough fireworks in his Mazda MPV to ignite a Chinese New Year celebration.
"Basically, everything you can imagine," said Detective Bill McLaughlin, as he and other officers unloaded the impounded van outside the North Shore's 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George yesterday afternoon.
Among the dozens of boxes of pyrotechnics stuffed into Giglio the van were bottle rockets, mortars and Roman candles, sporting names like "Molotov Cocktail" and "Operation Phantom Fury." The detectives estimated the haul at $2,500.
Giglio, a resident of Coram, Suffolk County, will likely be arraigned today in Stapleton Criminal Court on a charge of unlawfully dealing with fireworks, after he spends a night in a stationhouse cell, law enforcement sources said.
His arrest is part of the NYPD's stepped-up efforts to stop fireworks from entering the city and wreaking havoc during the Fourth of July holiday.
Last year, in Staten Island alone, authorities jailed 20 people for fireworks-related incidents and issued 190 criminal summonses and 101 Environmental Control Board summonses.
Police have traced the source of most of that contraband to fireworks outlets in Pennsylvania. Although fireworks cannot be bought by Pennsylvania residents and are illegal to use in the state, a legal loophole added in 2004 allows distributors to sell to anyone who can prove he or she lives outside the state.
The loophole compelled the NYPD to send undercover agents to stores more than 70 miles away, where they stake out parking lots and tail buyers until they cross state lines. The operation, which began last year, nabbed 53 people in 46 separate busts, and resulted in the confiscation of 18 vehicles for forfeiture in Staten Island by July 2.
Citywide, more than 200 people were arrested on charges of fireworks possession and trafficking during the same period.
Said one law enforcement source about the undercover operation: "The idea is to get them before they can get the stuff here. If we wait until the Fourth of July, it's too late."
Peter N. Spencer is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at spencer@siadvance.com.
Found it here : http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/117992172594210.xml&coll=1
