By Tom Tracy
A cache of military grade hardware was removed from a Homecrest Avenue man’s home – just a room away from where his children slept and played, cops from the 61st Precinct said. Someone looking to get paid from the NYPD’s anonymous gun stop program alerted cops at the Coney Island Avenue stationhouse about the weapons repository, which included a 30-mm caliber browning machine gun that suspect Nicholas Bianchino, a resident of the 1900 block of Homecrest Avenue, was allegedly keeping under his bed. Working off the tip, cops executed a search warrant on the home on the morning of January 18, where they allegedly found a machine gun, as well as four AK 47s and ten handguns. Loads of ammunition – some secreted in plastic M&M containers, were also recovered. Several instruction pamphlets on how to assemble firearms as well as several phone books that Bianchino allegedly enjoyed shooting bullets through were also found in the “gun room,” officials said. “He would test the guns out by shooting through textbooks and phone books,” said one source close to the case. “His kids would be in the next room, but he wouldn’t care.” Cops did not disclose just how old Bianchino’s children are. “These are 15 guns that could have been put on the street,” said Captain Vincent Stella, the commanding officer of the 61st Precinct, referring to the seized weapons put out on display Thursday night. “They [the guns] could have put several lives in danger. When you see what is on this table, you can see how well the Gun-Stop program works.” “It’s a win, win,” Stella said. “If you use the program, you get to save a life and make some money in the process.” The anonymous tipster that turned Bianchino in will receive $1,000 for his information, said Stella, who said that as of press time ballistic experts were checking out each and every gun to see if it had been used in a crime. Sources alleged that Bianchino ordered many of the guns in parts and assembled them himself. Police said that Bianchino had been arrested on two prior occasions, once for burglary and once for drug possession. This time cops charged him with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Stella called the discovery a “bigger than average” seizure. Gun arrests in south Brooklyn increased by 25 percent in 2006, officials said. Anyone wishing to anonymously report about illegal guns in their communities can call the illegal handgun program at (866) GUN-STOP.
