2 Arrested, 1 At Large In Alleged Gun-Smuggling Ring
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two men are under arrest, accused in a gun-smuggling ring that sources say was being run out of a Manhattan gym.
Federal prosecutors say Maquan Moore and his alleged accomplices bought weapons in Florida, illegally smuggling them by bus across state lines into New York.
Some of the guns, according to sources, were allegedly stored inside lockers at an upscale Equinox gym in Greenwich Village, where members pay as much as $250 a month to use the facility.
"I had absolutely no idea," Equinox member Cassie Goldring told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "That's insane."
According to the federal indictment, Moore met an undercover agent last November in Brooklyn and told him he could get him guns. The next month, he allegedly met the agent in lower Manhattan and sold him four weapons.
Then between the end of December and Jan. 10, Moore sold 23 more weapons to the undercover agent, investigators said.
Just last week, there was another alleged exchange. Feds say a text message was sent from Moore to the agent saying, "I got half ya sneakers...7 for 5 soon as u ready." Authorities say Moore was saying through code that he had half of the guns requested at a price of $5,000.
Court papers reveal one interaction occurred near a local public school.
Moore, who worked as a security guard at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and one of his alleged accomplices, Morris Wilson of Florida, were arrested Thursday night, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported. Authorities are still searching for a third suspect.
Moore and Wilson were awaiting arraignment Friday evening. Moore faces at least five counts of firearm possession and trafficking, including possession of a firearm near a school zone.
A total of 50 weapons were seized, including automatic handguns, semiautomatic rifles and a MAC-10, Papa reported.
CBS2 reached out to Equinox, which sent a statement saying: "We are fully cooperating with the authorities to gather as much information as possible at this time."
