Feds charge Bronx transit worker with assembling ‘ghost guns’ from parts bought online
A Bronx transit worker is the latest New Yorker charged with ordering gun parts online to make illegal D.I.Y. “ghost guns” at home, Manhattan federal prosecutors say.
Domingo Valle, 51, an NYC Transit subway car inspector, bought firearm components on the web at least 50 times over the last seven years to assemble the untraceable firearms, which he stashed in a concealed, wall-mounted shelf in his Bronx apartment, the feds charge.
Police arrested Valle with six firearms, including two privately made AR-style rifles and three pistols, as well as ammunition. They also discovered body armor with loaded rifle and pistol magazines and numerous bullets, authorities said.
Valle on Wednesday resigned from inspector job, said MTA spokesman Tim Minton.
“The alleged crimes are wholly inconsistent with the values of NYC Transit, which has zero tolerance for gun violence that is a clear threat to the safety of New Yorkers we serve,” Minton said.
On Tuesday, Valle was presented in Manhattan federal court on a charge of being a a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The feds say he’s banned from owning firearms due to a 1991 conviction for possession of a loaded firearm, which resulted in a sentence of 30 years to five months.
“As alleged, for years, Valle purchased firearm tools, parts, and accessories online in order to create privately manufactured firearms, also known as ‘ghost guns,’ which are difficult to detect and trace,” said acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss.
During one online shopping trip in 2020, Valle’s bought an Easy Jig, a tool used to assemble a gun. Soon after that, he bought components for the lower receiver of an AR-15, the feds say.
The “ghost guns” are typically sold on the black market for $250 to $500. They do not feature serial numbers, making it impossible for authorities to track the gun’s original buyer and seller.
Of deep concern to authorities and gun control advocates is that buyers can bypass criminal and mental illness background checks when they purchase gun parts separately.
So far in 2021, the NYPD has recovered 135 ghost guns and 45 frames — figures that lead cops to believe they’ll find more than the previous high of 145 last year.
Cops recovered 48 ghost guns in 2019 and 17 in 2018.
Valle faces up to 10 years within prison if convicted.
