Something is rotten in Denmark with this story.
This is in the Oct. 2010 edition Vol. 7 No.7 of the Triton Newspaper. The website is the-triton.com, but has yet to post this article.
Capt. Paul Giusti was arrested on Aug. 27 for possession of a firearm aboard his employer's 95 foot Christensen Yacht. "We cleared customs. I had everything in order, had my TWIC card, license, every paper," Capt. Giusti said.
With the owner and guests aboard, he was cruising into New York Harbor, when the Coast Guard stopped the vessel for a routine safety check. When they asked about firearms, Giusti told them it was in a lockbox, unloaded. Later when the yacht entered New Jersey to allow the guests to disembark, NY Police arrived, and transported Giusti back to NYC, where he was charged with criminal possession of a firearm.
"I was in compliance, nothing was illegal under Federal laws," Giusti said. An NYPD spokesman confirmed the arrest, and stated the police report indicated the yacht carried an unloaded semi-automatic handgun. And a spokesperson for the Coast Guard sector New York, described their event as a routine safety check.
Neither report states what prompted Giusti's arrest.
Giusti plans to fight the charge because he had all the paperwork required by U.S. Customs, and in fact, had cleared customs four days earlier, and was certified with a U.S. cruising permit.
Capt. Giusti plans to meet with the NY District Attorney's office in late September, but wanted other yacht captains to know what happened to him so they can avoid potential problems with firearms aboard their yachts. He is scheduled to appear in court in late October.
Dorie Cox, staff reporter, associate editor The Triton.
dorie@the-triton.com
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Somethings not right with this. NYPD drove to NJ to get him, yet drove back to NYC to charge him? Bloomberg pixie dust is infecting some in NYPD, why wouldn't it be the port authority?
This stinks.