New York Police Officer Arrested For Trafficking Illegal Guns

The Wall Street Journal – by Sean Gardiner

A New York Police Department officer and two of his brothers were arrested for allegedly trafficking high-powered firearms out of the United States and into the Philippines, federal law-enforcement officials announced on Friday.

Rex Maralit, a 44-year-old officer assigned to police headquarters in Lower Manhattan, was arrested on charges of conspiring with his brothers to violate the Arms Export Control Act and engage in unlicensed firearms dealing, law-enforcement officials said.  

His brother, Wilfredo Maralit, 48, a Customs and Border Protection Officer at Los Angeles International Airport, was also arrested, according the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Ariel Maralit, 43, lives in the Philippines, and U.S. law enforcement authorities are working with officials there to apprehend him, officials said.

Rex is expected to make an appearance at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Friday.

Between January 2009 and March 2013, the defendants engaged in “a scheme to smuggle high-powered assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols and firearm accessories from the United States to the Philippines,” according to the complaint.

Arms may not be exported without a license from the U.S. Department of State and dealing in firearms requires a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which, the complaint states, the brothers did not have. Instead, the youngest brother is alleged to have emailed his older siblings specific weapons orders from customers in the Philippines, where the brothers were all born.

“The defendant and Wilfredo Maralit then scoured the internet for gun dealers and parts suppliers, and used their law enforcement credentials to obtain weapons and weapon components for export or resale in the Philippines. The coconspirators sent the guns and gun parts overseas in disguised packages, mislabeled as containing, for example, ‘industrial sliding door track,’” according to a prosecutor’s letter to the court seeking Rex Maralit’s detention.

The complaint described some of the weapons the brothers are alleged to have trafficked and describes them as “among the most powerful and deadly military style assault weapons available.”

For instance, one weapon the brothers allegedly sold in the Philippines was a Barrett .50 caliber rifle which the complaint described as “a long-range weapon, favored by U.S. Special Forces and other military units for its ability to penetrate exterior walls, disable vehicles, and even potentially down aircraft.”

Rex and Wilfredo allegedly used their status as law-enforcement officers to get discounts on the arms, officials said.

On Thursday, federal agents conducted a search warrant in the home where Mr. Maralit, a 10-year NYPD veteran who works in the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity office, lives in Lawrence, New Jersey. His residency there is apparently in violation of NYPD regulations requiring officers to live in designated parts of New York.  The search turned up numerous firearms including a loaded AK47 assault rifle, a loaded .44 Magnum revolver and two other loaded handgun, which court records state were not locked despite the fact that there are three children living in the home. The search also turned up firearm parts and a case of what appeared to be smoke grenades.

“The vast majority of police officers do outstanding work to protect New York City and a case like this is disheartening to the entire department,” NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement which credited the role of his department’s Internal Affairs Bureau in the investigation.

Mr. Maralit faces up to five years for each charge, forfeiture and a fine of $250,000, according to prosecutors.

Wilfredo Maralit was arrested on Friday and is expected to appear in federal court in Santa Ana, California where prosecutors will request that his case be moved to New York. Mr. Maralit could not be reached for comment andit could not be in immediately determined who his attorney is.

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/09/06/new-york-police-officer-arrested-for-trafficking-illegal-guns/