Rockland County DA Indicts Four Residents who Possessed 13 Illegal Firearms Among Them

By Sarah Morgenstern

Rockland County is safer now that four residents have been indicted for illegally possessing warlike weapons and “ghost guns,” which are untraceable guns that lack serial numbers, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced Thursday.

On Feb. 16, a sprawling operation that involved 12 local, county, and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, issued three search warrants, before seizing 13 illegal firearms and arresting: Vandara Nguon, 34, of Pomona, Frank Wachausen, 55, of Nanuet, Fisnik Bajraktaraj, 35, of Congers, and Joseph Montenero, 30, of Congers.

The Special Investigative Unit of the Rockland County district attorney’s office oversaw the operation that recovered 10 assault rifles and three handguns: all of which are illegal to possess in New York.

Since January 2020, Rockland County police departments have seen violence increase as they investigated more than 60 shootings or shots fired. Noting the uptick in gun violence, the Rockland County district attorney’s office found Naguon, Wachausen, Bajraktaraj, and Montenero, after launching an investigation to find the Rockland County residents who owned ghost guns and other illegal firearms.

“The indictments announced today are only the beginning of the continual pursuit from this office to remove illegal firearms off our streets,” said District Attorney Tom Walsh, who graciously thanked the efforts of the “highly trained law enforcement agencies” that found the gun owners. “Rockland County must not and will not tolerate the more than 60 cases, in the last two years, in which bullets flew throughout the air in our community.

Law enforcement agents secured all 13 firearms to be used as evidence in the ongoing investigations. Two of those firearms, which did not contain serial numbers, are commonly referred to as “ghost guns,” which are designed to be bought and sold illegally, according to bradyunited.org, which is an advocacy group that fights gun violence.

Ghost gun kits are sold at gun shows and online every day throughout the country, bradyunited.org says, which is how many criminals get access to guns and “undermine all of the life-saving policies that state legislatures have fought so hard to put in place.”

“These [ghost gun] kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers: without background checks,” the website says.