Amsterdam Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm Charge

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mark P. Messare, age 42, of Amsterdam, New York, pled guilty today to possessing an unregistered, short-barreled rifle.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and John B. Devito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Messare admitted that on September 8, 2018, he possessed a Glock 9 millimeter handgun that was inserted into a Micro Roni Pistol Carbine Conversion Kit, creating a short-barreled rifle with a barrel length of approximately 4 inches.   Messare also admitted that he knew that the Micro Roni Pistol Carbine Conversion Kit was designed to convert a handgun into a short-barreled rifle, as the Conversion Kit included a folding shoulder stock that allows a handgun to be fired from the shoulder.  Messare never registered this firearm in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by federal law. 

Messare, who is in custody, faces up to 10 years in prison, as well as a $10,000 fine and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, when he is sentenced on August 14, 2019 by Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.