Peter Celentano, Machinegun Possession, New York 2024

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Peter Celentano, 36, Pleads Guilty to Possessing Machineguns in New York

BUFFALO, N.Y.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Peter Celentano, 36, of Bergen, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to illegal possession of machineguns, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Intravatola stated that on September 29, 2024, the New York State Police, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives executed a search warrant at Celentano’s residence in Bergen. During the search, law enforcement recovered numerous items, including 3D printed pistol frames, firearm parts and accessories, ammunition reloading equipment, tools for constructing privately made firearms, a drill press, and two 3D printed machinegun conversion devices.

Law enforcement also conducted additional searches at properties in Lyndonville and Medina, NY, during which they seized numerous AR-style lower receivers, 3D printed handguns, and additional firearm parts and accessories. In total, law enforcement seized over 200 firearms tied to Celentano.

During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Celentano provided another individual with nine lower receivers, two of which contained the “third pin hole,” qualifying them as machineguns. An individual known by defendant had subsequently discarded these firearms off the Beals Road Bridge into the Erie Canal. A New York State Police dive team searched the Erie Canal beneath the bridge in Medina, NY, and recovered a cardboard box containing 10 AR-style receivers, an unmarked handgun, ammunition magazines, and additional firearm parts.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Kevin Sucher, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Joseph M. Graff, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 6, 2025 before Judge Vilardo.

The case serves as a reminder of the importance of law enforcement working together to combat firearms trafficking and the dangers it poses to communities.

Celentano’s actions demonstrate the reckless disregard for the law and the safety of others that those involved in firearms trafficking often exhibit.