(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A 38-year-old city employee is accused of trying to illegally sell a machine gun while on the clock and driving a Department of Streets and Sanitation vehicle.
Charles Sikanich of Chicago tried to sell the MP-40 rifle to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office said in a news release Tuesday.
During the sale, Sikanich allegedly said he would have his mother complete the illegal transaction, to avoid any complications with his role as superintendent of Chicago's 45th ward on the Northwest Side.
He now faces several charges, including unlawful use of weapons and official misconduct. Bond has been set at $100,000, Raoul’s office said.
WBBM Newsradio has reached out to 45th Ward Ald. James Gardiner for comment.
“Seeking to illegally sell a dangerous firearm like a machine gun demonstrates at best indifference toward the public’s safety,” Raoul said in a prepared statement. “However, to do so on government time using government property demonstrates a shocking disregard for the people government employees have committed to serve.”
MP-40s are described as World War II-era submachine guns used by Axis forces. Federal law prohibits ownership of fully automated guns made after 1986.
Raoul’s office said it is illegal to possess fully automatic MP-40 in Illinois.
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