FedEx employee charged with stealing, selling more than 100 guns

Jeff Whelan
The Star-Ledger
Tuesday August 12, 2008

A Federal Express employee stole more than 100 guns that had been legally shipped into the U.S., and then enlisted a co-conspirator to help sell them at public housing projects in Jersey City and on the streets of Newark and East Orange, federal investigators said today.

Patrick Dolan, 28, of Keyport, stole the weapons from the FedEx in Eatontown, where he worked as a cargo handler, according to a complaint unsealed today in federal court in Newark. The weapons were shipped from Argentina. Dolan and his accomplice, John Sozomenou, 32, of Aberdeen, surrendered to authorities today for an afternoon court appearance.

In May, residents of public housing projects in Jersey City complained to law enforcement that two white males were selling handguns at three different complexes. A tipster said the weapons were being sold out of a white Ford Bronco and a blue BMW, and police traced the BMW's license plate back to Dolan's girlfriend, according to the complaint.

The weapons were new and still in boxes, authorities said.

The two defendants agreed to sell up to 15 handguns for $300 each to a confidential informant who was secretly cooperating with law enforcement, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie's office is prosecuting the case

TAKEN OFF STREETS
Cops: Gun dealers hid weapons inside car

Friday, May 30, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City police busted a pair of alleged gun dealers and seized 11 weapons, including two loaded handguns hidden inside a car's steering wheel, around midnight Wednesday after a 48-hour stakeout, officials announced yesterday.

Patrick Dolan, 28, a FedEx employee from Keyport, and John Sozomenou, 32, of Aberdeen, both face 32 counts of unlawful possession of weapons and receiving stolen property, officials said at a news conference yesterday at police headquarters.

Sozomenou is also charged as a "certain person not to have weapons" because of a previous felony conviction, police said.

Police, who had set up surveillance points based on an anonymous tip, closed in on the Monmouth County pair on Logan Avenue as they approached the Marion Gardens public housing project in a white Ford Bronco.

During the bust, the secret compartment in the steering wheel was opened by one of the men, revealing the two loaded guns, one of which was cocked and ready to fire, according to Police Chief Tom Comey.

"These men came in combat mode," but no one was injured in the bust, Comey said.

Police said they did not know if they interrupted a sale in progress or if the men had come to Jersey City to seek buyers.

In all, 10 semi-automatic pistols and one revolver were found in the Bronco - worth between $350 and $500 each, officials said.

There's a strong possibility that the guns entered the state in a delivery company vehicle, said Michael Kelly, of the Major Case Squad, who headed the investigation along with Police Inspector Kenneth Teschlog. It is unclear if they were all stolen since several were defaced to remove their serial numbers, Kelly said.

FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz confirmed Dolan was a company employee, but she was not sure of his exact position.

"We do hold our employees to the highest standards, and we will cooperate fully with law enforcement officials in their investigation," Munoz said. "We take this matter very, very seriously."

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy praised the police and said the arrests prove the need for stronger federal gun laws, which he has pushed along with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Who knows how many shootings and robberies and lives were saved by getting these dangerous handguns off the streets?" Healy said. "This is a federal plague that requires a federal cure."