Providence man charged with selling, attempting to sell over 100 ghost guns out of his home

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John B. DeVito, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and Johnathan Carson, Special Agent-in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office, announced that Robert Alcantara was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday with conspiring to traffic firearms and with making false statements. Alcantara was arrested Thursday and presented in the District of Rhode Island.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Untraceable ‘ghost guns’ pose a serious threat to public safety. As alleged, the defendant agreed with others to buy the parts for these firearms, put them together at his home, and then unlawfully sold or attempted to sell over 100 of
them. Thanks to our law enforcement partners, the defendant has been arrested, and his deadly ghost gun business has been shut down.”

John B. DeVito, ATF New York Special Agent-in-Charge said: “As alleged, Robert Alcantara engaged in trafficking untraceable, Privately Made Firearms (PMF’s), commonly called ghost guns. Stopping the flow of these firearms is a top priority of ATF, and we will rigorously pursue those who illegally sell these firearms. I applaud the NYSP who initiated this investigation through superb investigative actions, as well as our partners at the US Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement and the NYPD for their vital and continued contributions to the investigations.”

US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement New York Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson said: “As is alleged to have happened here, the trafficking of Privately Made Firearms poses a danger to our communities. The Office of Export Enforcement will continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies to combat the illegal smuggling of firearms, including ‘ghost guns’ that are difficult to trace.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, from September 2019 up to November 2021, Alcantara and others entered an agreement in which Alcantara purchased the parts for more than 100 “ghost guns,” machined the ghost guns at his house in Providence, Rhode Island, and then illegally sold the working and completed ghost guns. On November 20, 2021, law enforcement recovered parts for 45 ghost guns from Alcantara’s car. When interviewed by law enforcement, Alcantara falsely told them that he had never sold or transferred ownership of a firearm to any other individual, and that he had never transported a firearm to the Dominican Republic.

Alcantara, 34, of Providence, Rhode Island, is charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.