Greene County Felon Cops 24 Months for Gun Possession

Michael Greenholtz, 24, of Cairo, New York, is headed to federal prison for 24 months after admitting he sold a .22 caliber revolver while legally barred from possessing any firearm. The sentence, handed down today in Albany, marks the end of a federal case rooted in a single illegal transaction that exposed a deeper pattern of criminal disregard.

Greenholtz pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a charge that stuck because of two prior state felony convictions for burglary. Those convictions stripped him of any legal right to own or handle a gun—rights he ignored on July 31, 2018, when he sold the revolver in Albany. The sale didn’t go unnoticed. Law enforcement traced the weapon, leading directly to his doorstep.

U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, FBI Special Agent in Charge James N. Hendricks, and ATF’s John B. DeVito confirmed the sentencing in a joint announcement. Federal prosecutors painted Greenholtz not as a one-time offender, but as a convicted felon who knowingly re-entered the world of illegal weapons trade—a move that carries stiff consequences under federal law.

Sentencing was delivered by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who imposed the 24-month prison term and tacked on 3 years of supervised release to follow. Greenholtz has been in custody since his arrest on September 15, 2018, meaning he’s already served significant time, but the federal clock is now officially ticking on his sentence.

The investigation was a coordinated effort between the FBI’s Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the ATF, agencies that have intensified scrutiny on illegal gun trafficking in upstate New York. Authorities stress that even a single firearm in the hands of a violent felon poses a serious threat to public safety.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon led the prosecution, securing a conviction that underscores federal zero tolerance for illegal gun possession. Greenholtz’s case adds to a growing stack of federal weapons convictions in the Northern District of New York, where prosecutors continue to target repeat offenders with long-standing criminal histories.

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