Edward Fontenot, Straw Gun Purchase, PA 2024

Edward Fontenot, 33, of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, is headed to federal prison for buying guns on behalf of a convicted felon who’s legally barred from owning weapons. Fontenot was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, after admitting to violating federal firearms laws in a scheme that armed a dangerous prohibited buyer.

The crime unfolded in July 2016, when Fontenot walked into Mahoning Valley Milling Company, a federally licensed firearms dealer, and purchased four high-powered rifles. He signed ATF Form 4473, swearing under penalty of perjury that he was the actual buyer—knowing full well the weapons were destined for Peter DiGiacomo, a convicted felon with no legal right to possess a firearm.

The guns Fontenot bought included a 5.56 caliber semiautomatic Zastava rifle, a 7.62 caliber semiautomatic CAI rifle, a 7.62 caliber Century Arms rifle, and another 5.56 caliber Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle. All were transferred to DiGiacomo, who was later sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for his role in the illegal possession.

Sentencing was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti in Pittsburgh. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy, who emphasized that straw purchases aren’t paperwork violations—they’re felony crimes that feed underground gun markets and arm violent offenders.

This prosecution was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s flagship initiative to dismantle violent crime networks. PSN targets not only shooters but the supply chains that arm them—like Fontenot, who thought he could sidestep the law by pretending to be a buyer.

Fontenot’s 13-month sentence sends a message: lying to buy guns for criminals carries real prison time. Federal authorities stress that straw purchasers are co-conspirators in violence, not middlemen. With PSN’s enforcement net tightening, more like him may soon face the same fate.