Albany, New York - Jonathan M. Cuney, 38, a part-time resident of East Greenbush, New York, was sentenced today to 87 months in prison and was subsequently released under supervision for 3 years on charges of illegal possession Guns, including "ghost guns" and ammunition.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent John B. DeVito, responsible for the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Administration (ATF) New York Division.
Cuney previously admitted to illegally possessing Springfield Armory rifles and FMK Firearms Inc. AR-15 rifle receivers/frames between September 9, 2019 and November 14, 2019, and possession of three unregistered silencers.
Cuney was previously convicted of illegally selling firearms. In December 2015, he pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, transporting and selling guns whose serial numbers had been erased while he was a licensed gun dealer. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison and returned to East Greenbush after being released from prison in April 2017.
On June 22, 2021, when he pleaded guilty, Cooney also admitted that he had purchased gun parts from dozens of online retailers at least between August 2018 and November 12, 2019, and shipped these items to the east. Greenbush; Willitz, California (where he maintains his residence); and Providence, Rhode Island (where he used to run a legal gun business). Cuney then uses these gun parts to make non-serialized pistols and rifles and silencers. These guns are often referred to as "ghost guns" because they have no serial numbers and are more difficult for law enforcement agencies to track.
ATF searched Cuney’s East Greenbush storage unit on November 14, 2019 and found that it contained the following items:
Cuney also rented a storage unit in Redway in Humboldt County, California. ATF searched the storage unit on November 20, 2019 and found that it contained the following items:
Cooney also admitted to illegally possessing thousands of ammunition in Columbia, Missouri, on September 17, 2019, which he had bought at a gun store through a straw buyer.
He also admitted to illegally possessing a pistol and a rifle near Tucson, Arizona on November 12, 2019, which were discovered at a traffic stop in a vehicle driven by Cuney.
Cuney also admitted to joining the Proud Boys organization at the end of 2018.
When sentencing Cooney, the senior U.S. district judge Frederick J. Scullin (Frederick J. Scullin, Jr.) pointed out that “in this country, ghost guns kill people on the streets every day.”
Judge Scarlin mentioned that Cooney had previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including combat deployments in Iraq, but stated that "any honor you may receive as a veteran is offset by your actions as a criminal. You know how Play the system. You told a good story—'A' stands for writing, and'F' stands for behavior."
As part of the plea agreement, Cooney agreed to abandon the various guns, silencers, ammunition and gun parts found in East Greenbush and Redway, California, as well as the following items found in Redway: keys; 56 Monadnock one-off Single cuffs; and clothing, patches, and badges with law enforcement acronyms and badges, including FBI caps, FBI badges, FBI patches, DEA patches, and DEA badges.
With the assistance of ATF agents and task force officials in Arizona, California, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Wyoming, the ATF New York Field Service conducted investigations into these cases. The California Highway Patrol also assisted in the investigation.
The New York case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
The Arizona case was prosecuted by Serra M. Tsethlikai, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Arizona District.
The Missouri case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver for the Western District of Missouri.
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