A Passaic County man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for possession of multiple machineguns, which are illegal under federal law, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Mariusz Cebula, 36, Ringwood, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of knowingly possessing five machineguns, which are defined as weapons that can shoot more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cebula admitted that he possessed five machine guns, but agreed to forfeit to the Government an additional 12 machine guns and machinegun parts, all of which were possessed illegally, as well as 10 other firearms and firearm parts.
The five machineguns specifically charged in the information were determined to be readily operational as automatic weapons, meaning that they required no modification to shoot more than one shot automatically by a single function of the trigger and without manual reload. Cebula obtained most of the firearms through purchases at gun shows from unlicensed gun sellers and on the Internet.
Besides the machine guns charged in the information and forfeited by him, Cebula also possessed numerous other firearms, weapons and ammunition, all of which have been administratively forfeited by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to data published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the town of Ringwood ranked number six on the list of top ten cities in New Jersey where guns were seized in 2015, behind Newark, Paterson, Trenton, Jersey City and Camden. Of the 93 recovered guns that propelled Ringwood, New Jersey to the sixth spot on the list, the overwhelming majority (approximately 80) were recovered from Cebula’s home.