NEW YORK - A former New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Officer, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for engaging in a scheme involving the illegal interstate transport of firearms and stolen goods.

From December 2010 to October 2011, Joseph Trischitta transported firearms and what he believed to be stolen goods, including slot machines, cigarettes and other merchandise, across state lines. Trischitta, who was on payroll as a retired NYPD Officer at the time he committed the offenses, was recruited to join the conspiracy in December 2010 by its leader and organizer, NYPD Officer William Masso.

Trischitta helped transport firearms, including three M-16 rifles, one shotgun, and 16 handguns – the majority of which had been defaced to remove or alter the serial number, and all of which had been disabled. Trischitta and his co-conspirators also transported slot machines, thousands of cartons of cigarettes, and other counterfeit merchandise. The goods carried a street value of approximately $1 million.

Trischitta was originally charged in a four-count Complaint along with 11 co-conspirators, many of whom were fellow NYPD Officers. All of the defendants have now pled guilty, except Ali Oklu, an active duty NYPD Officer at the time he allegedly committed the offenses.