By Patrick Smith—
NBC News
Two brothers were charged Tuesday
with 130 criminal counts in New York
for possessing a vast collection of 3D-printed weapons, improvised explosives, anarchist propaganda and a list of celebrities and powerful people to kill.
Andrew Hatziagelis, 39, and Angelo Hatziagelis, 51, residents of Astoria, Queens, were remanded in custody after police indicated the two had “bad intentions.”
Among the pile of weapons they had were eight “fully operational” bombs, said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“We cannot estimate the number of lives saved, but we do know that these weapons will never harm anyone,” Katz added in a statement.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz inspects a cache of weapons seized in New York on January 29, 2024.Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
The prosecutor's office published an image of a handwritten list of people to kill obtained by the police, which mentions
"police officers, judges, politicians and celebrities
. "
There were no names, but the list was enough to alarm the authorities.
“We recovered multiple writings and notebooks that show that (the detainees) are very anti-government, anti-social.
There were writings quoting Charles Manson, very related to human destruction,” Courtney Nilan, of the NYPD's intelligence division, told NBC New York.
“The accusations highlighted the harsh reality that there are a small number of people in our communities who may have bad intentions,” New York Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a statement.
“This array of weapons – including explosives and untraceable 3D printed ghost guns – had the potential to cause horrendous carnage,” he added.
So-called ghost weapons can be printed at home using designs found on the internet.
Joe Biden's government has tried to end this practice, but an appeals court rejected regulations in November to restrict its use.
It was the purchase of components for these weapons that alerted the Queens Borough Authority's Office of Crime Strategy and Intelligence to the brothers' intentions, leading to a six-month investigation, according to authorities.
Part of the improvised explosive devices that were seized.Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
Police said they obtained a warrant on January 17 and searched his address, where they found a variety of weapons.
These included two loaded AR-15 style ghost guns, each with detachable magazines;
a partially constructed bomb trip wire;
four loaded 9mm semi-automatic ghost guns, two of them 3D printed;
an AK-47-style ghost assault rifle and over 600 rounds of ammunition.
Such was the concern of the agents about the explosives that they evacuated the entire building located on 36th Avenue, located in front of a power plant.
A scribbled "hit list" shows a list of targets that includes police officers, judges and celebrities.Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
Police said the two men lived with their mother and another brother, neither of whom face charges, NBC New York reported.
Authorities also found a 3D printer and other tools to print the ghost guns, as well as three sets of bulletproof vests and several notebooks on how to make explosives, as well as anarchist propaganda.
An image released by police showed explosives apparently made from used soda cans and other household items.
Among the charges against them are 64 related to illegal possession of weapons.
The two will appear in court on February 15 and, if convicted,
could spend up to 25 years in prison
.
each.
Angelo Hatziagelis, born in 1972, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the court summary.
The Legal Aid Society of New York, which represents at least one of the Hatziagelis brothers, declined to comment.
The case was compared by some to that of the Tsarnaev brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan, who were convicted of placing and detonating two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.