NEW YORK, NY – Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea today announced the indictment of ROBERTO CARMONA, 51, and Tennessee-based HAROLD FLORAN, 51, for selling 80 guns and corresponding ammunition to an undercover NYPD detective. The indictment also charges two other Tennessee residents, ALAN GOODE, 30, and MELVYN MCDONALD, 41, for knowingly supplying the firearms for illegal sales in New York City. The defendants are charged in a 141-count New York State Supreme Court indictment with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, as well as various counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First, Second, and Third Degrees, and other related charges.
“Roberto Carmona allegedly used his job as a doorman to operate a highly illegal, one-man gun show out of the Midtown building where he worked – storing ammunition in his locker and selling multiple deadly weapons outside,” said District Attorney Vance. “Mr. Carmona is also accused of bringing his work home with him, selling dozens of guns outside the Morningside Heights building where he lived.
“Not even a global pandemic can stop the flow of guns from Southern states into our City. We can wait a lifetime for states like Tennessee to strengthen their nonexistent gun laws, or we can raise the stakes for trafficking in New York. That’s why, every year since 2016, I have proposed a new Gun Kingpin bill to establish the crime of ‘Operating as a Major Firearms Trafficker’ which would carry a penalty of up to 25 years to life in prison for selling 20 or more firearms in one year. I thank the brave undercover detective and all the members of the NYPD’s Firearms Suppression Division for their partnership and exemplary work on this case.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “New York City police officers risk their lives every day to prevent guns from getting into criminals’ hands because every shooting is a serious concern to the public and the police. With too many illegal guns already out there, it’s a great service that our NYPD investigators and prosecutors have performed in this case to ensure that these trafficked guns were taken out of commission before reaching our city streets.”
According to the indictment, between January 29, 2021, and September 9, 2021, CARMONA sold a total of 80 guns, including 63 semi-automatic pistols, 11 revolvers, two assault rifles, two rifles, one sawed-off shotgun, one shotgun, and corresponding ammunition to an undercover NYPD detective. The 15 sales took place near CARMONA’s home in Morningside Heights, and at a building on West 55thStreet in Midtown, where he worked as a doorman and stored ammunition in his locker in the building’s basement. Prices ranged from $500 to $3,700 per firearm.
The defendants orchestrated the gun sales through text messages and phone calls and exchanged cash and digital payments. Typically, GOODE and MCDONALD purchased the weapons in Tennessee, and sold them to FLORAN. FLORAN then met CARMONA in Virginia, Tennessee, or New Jersey to exchange the weapons. FLORAN and CARMONA used their personal cars to transfer the guns, but on one occasion, FLORAN transported the firearms in a U-Haul. The Tennessee-based defendants typically purchased the weapons at gun stores, but also discussed buying firearms on ArmsList.com, a classified ad website that serves as a platform for individuals to buy and sell weapons and accessories in private transactions.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit (“VCEU”) and the NYPD’s Firearms Suppression Division. VCEU was created in 2010 by District Attorney Vance to lead the efforts of the Office in combatting gun and gang violence, with an enhanced focus on illegal firearms trafficking within New York City. Since its formation, VCEU has brought 42 indictments against 123 gun traffickers operating between New York City and states including Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leading to the removal of more than 1,800 illegal guns from New York City streets.
Assistant D.A. Jamie Kleidman is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Christopher Prevost (Chief of VCEU), as well as Executive Assistant D.A. Joan Illuzzi-Orbon (Chief of the Trial Division). VCEU Investigative Analyst Vanessa Reider also assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Vance thanked Chief of Detectives James Essig, Assistant Chief Christopher McCormack, Inspector Brian Gill, Captain Jeffrey Heilig, Lieutenant Michael Raso, Sergeants Brian O’Hanlon, James Lundy, Brian Manning, and especially, Detective Garth Merandy and the courageous undercover detectives of the Firearms Investigation Unit. Additionally, DA Vance thanked the U.S. Marshals at the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force and Sergeant William Dooley and Detective Michael Dalia, formerly of the NYPD’s Intelligence Division.