Convicted Felon Sentenced for Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun

Almost one year to the date of his arrest by Branford Police, Branford resident , 41, of Montoya Drive, was sentenced by the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut to serve 30 months in prison, followed by three years of probation for illegal possession of a firearm.

In early May, 2011,  operating on information, stopped Iannucci, at the exit 54 entrance to I95 south and found him in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and gun silencer. A convicted felon, Iannucci was arrested for criminal possession of the gun, held at the Branford Police Department and arraigned in New Haven court. Captain Geoffrey Morgan of the Branford Police stated that Iannucci’s altered shotgun had a shortened barrel.

The United States Attorney’s office stated, “according to court documents and statements made in court, on May 4, 2011, Iannucci arranged to sell a sawed-off Mossberg 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun to an individual working with law enforcement in exchange for $200.”

Prior to the 2011 arrest, Iannucci was convicted on several gun possession and explosive charges stemming from incidents in New Haven and East Haven in 2009. He plead guilty to those charges.

According to the United States Attorney’s office, “It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.”

When arrested in 2009 in East Haven for having explosives, the New Haven Register reports that then-East Haven Chief of Police, Leonard Gallo, stated, “This man’s a danger to society. ... The man’s a threat. We’ve already arrested him and done our job.”

Iannucci was arrested by East Haven Police in March of 2009 for possession of explosives. According to the New Haven Register and their review of East Haven Police records, Iannucci “was driving around East Haven with homemade explosive device, throwing them out the car window and blowing up stop signs. Police say Iannucci almost accidentally blew himself up in February. He claimed to police that he was stopped at a stop light on North High Street when an unknown individual threw something into his car. When he picked it up to throw it back out, it blew up, he told police.”

According to the New Haven Register, Iannucci sustained injuries to his hand and torso in the incident of the exploding bomb in his vehicle.

In October of 2009, Iannucci was again arrested, this time in New Haven for stealing a firearm and having a loaded gun in a motor vehicle. The New Haven Register reports “police discovered a pipe bomb, shotguns, gas masks and other items inside his Mercedes."

In January of this year, to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has been detained since his arrest on May 4, 2011.

This case was investigated by the Branford Police Department and the FBI’s JTTF, with substantial assistance provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marc H. Silverman.