Two man terror cell busted in Astoria

 Queens Post

Two Astoria brothers were criminally charged Monday after an arsenal of improvised explosive devices and ghost guns, including assault rifles, were found inside their apartment directly across Vernon Boulevard from the Ravenswood Generating Station.

 Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Andre and Angelo Hatziagelis were indicted Monday on 130 counts of criminal possession of a weapon and related charges after a Jan. 17 raid on the apartment they share with their mother and another brother at the intersection of 36th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard across from Big Allis, the name locals use for the massive Con Ed power plant on the East River.

Both Andrew, 39, and Angelos, 51, were remanded into custody, and their arraignment is pending.
“The city is safer today,” Katz said. “My Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau launched investigations every day so that we find illegal weapons, including guns and in this case explosive devices. We cannot measure the number of lives that were saved, but we do know that these weapons will never hurt anyone.”

Katz added that her office executed the court-authorized search along with the NYPD, Homeland Security and New York State Police and recovered eight fully operable bombs, several guns and numerous other weapons. According to the charges, based on prior intelligence, investigators the DA’s office launched a six-month probe into the purchase of firearm component parts, accessories, and the manufacture of illegal ghost guns by the Hatziagelis brothers.

Detectives from the NYPD were brought into the investigation to assist in the collection of additional data and a search warrant was secured.

On Jan. 17, law enforcement officials executed the search warrant on their residence resulting in their arrests and the seizure of eight IEDs, including one constructed with a trip-wire, two loaded AR-15 ghost gun assault weapons and other ghost guns, 600 rounds of ammo, three sets of body armor, 29 high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, numerous notebooks containing instructions on the manufacture of explosive devices and anarchist related propaganda. Investigators also discovered a radio set to the frequency of the 114th Precinct in Astoria.

“Today’s charges underscore the harsh reality that our communities contain a small number of people who conceivably harbor evil intent,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “This cache of weapons — including explosives and untraceable, 3D-printed ghost guns — had the potential to wreak horrendous carnage.”

Upon the execution of the search warrant on the brother’s apartment, members of the NYPD Bomb Squad were called to respond and subsequently evacuated the building due to the discovery of the live IEDs.

“Along with our NYPD investigators, I thank all of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their persistence in identifying, investigating, and holding accountable anyone who poses a risk to New Yorker’s safety and well-being,” Caban said.