MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (WCBS 880) -- A Long Island dentist was arrested after a cache of illegal guns and thousands of rounds of ammo was found in a basement "machine shop" at his home and dental office, Nassau County police said.
Paul Carey, 62, was arrested at his waterside home, which also serves as his dental practice, on Riviera Drive in Massapequa on Wednesday afternoon after his secretary called police.
The 33-year-old secretary was working when Carey repeatedly called out her name. Police said that when she approached him, he was standing at the top of a staircase holding a gun.
“While he appeared to be agitated and intoxicated, he went upstairs and his secretary heard him racking a rifle, a shotgun,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a news conference Thursday. “She immediately ran out of the house. She called 911.”
Officers arrived at the home with the assistance of the Emergency Services and Bureau of Special Operations.
Police used Carey's wife to speak with him and he "peacefully came out" of the home and was arrested, Ryder said.
He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.
Carey's wife reportedly gave police consent to search the home, where they uncovered 20 illegal long guns, including 18 “ghost guns” without serial numbers, on racks in the basement, according to police, who said 10 other guns were also found.
“While he appeared to be agitated and intoxicated, he went upstairs and his secretary heard him racking a rifle, a shotgun,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a news conference Thursday. “She immediately ran out of the house. She called 911.”
Authorities also found seven silencers, 61 high-capacity magazines and 3,000 rounds of ammunition, police said.
Carey was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the first, second and third degrees. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
His pistol license was taken away permanently in 2012 after he was convicted of firing rounds in the backyard of his house, according to police.
In a statement to Newsday, Carey’s attorney John Carman said: “Paul Carey, like many Americans, has a hobby of making weapons for collection purposes. State and federal gun laws are complicated but provide considerable latitude for this activity. The good news is that he is a dentist and harbored no intentions of hurting anyone.”
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