Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Offenses

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERT V. GENTILE, 80, of Manchester, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to federal firearm offenses, and also admitted that he violated the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 10, 2012, GENTILE was arrested after a federal investigation had revealed that he was involved in the illegal distribution of prescription narcotics. Subsequent court-authorized searches of GENTILE’s Manchester residence resulted in the seizure of 200 Percocet tablets packaged for distribution, two .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolvers, a .22 caliber North American Arms revolver, a .22 caliber derringer, a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, numerous rounds of ammunition, boxes of 12-gauge shotgun shells, five handgun silencers, other items and approximately $22,000 in cash. GENTILE pleaded guilty to federal drug and firearm offenses and, on May 9, 2013, was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

On March 2, 2015, while on supervised release, GENTILE sold a .38 Colt Cobra revolver, which was loaded with five rounds of Smith & Wesson .38 Special ammunition, for $1,000 to an individual he knew to be a convicted felon. The sale occurred at GENTILE’s residence, where the revolver had been hidden in a couch cushion.

GENTILE was arrested on a criminal complaint on April 17, 2015, and was ordered detained. On April 28, 2015, a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and sale of a firearm to a convicted felon.

On May 2, 2016, FBI special agents executed an unrelated federal search warrant at GENTILE’s Manchester residence and seized a .22 caliber Browning semi-automatic pistol, a 9mm Walther semi-automatic pistol, a .380 caliber RPB Industries, M11-Al semi-automatic pistol, and an unregistered silencer. On May 24, 2016, a grand jury returned an indictment charging GENTILE with one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon, and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer.

Today, GENTILE pleaded guilty to one count of possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon, which is contained in the April 2015 indictment. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer, both of which are contained in the May 2016 indictment. GENTILE also admitted that he violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release.

GENTILE is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny on August 25, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment 10 years on each count, and additional penalties for violating his supervised release.

GENTILE has been detained since his arrest on April 17, 2015.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.