August 21st 2019

By Jen Hayden

Daily Kos

In late July, two men were involved in a single-car accident in New jersey. At the time, the New Jersey Herald reported the accident as thus:

The driver, Joseph Rubino, 57, of Lafayette, and passenger, Kenneth Coe, 55, of Bayonne, were both airlifted to Morristown Medical Center with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, according to State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele.

Turns out, there was much more to the story. When state police arrived at the scene, they discovered an arsenal of weapons in the vehicle, including an arsenal of weapons and ammunition. New Jersey State Police searched the home of Joseph Rubino and found a much larger cache of weapons, including 17 guns, brass knuckles, hollow point bullets and a grenade launcher. Rubino also had a large amount of drugs and Neo-Nazi materials, including a very disturbing manual with “instructions on owning a slave.” From The New York Times:

In addition to the large collection of weapons found at his home, law enforcement officers discovered three kilograms of marijuana, 70 grams of methamphetamine and boxes of bumper stickers and clothing with S.S. Bolts — “Common white supremacist and Nazi symbols,” prosecutors said.

Officers also found a document labeled with a racial epithet “containing racist material and purporting to be an instruction manual for owning a slave,” prosecutors said.

Why Mr. Rubino kept such a large arsenal — a collection the police say included semiautomatic handguns, shotguns, rifles with scopes and a grenade launcher — remains unclear. But the arrest comes as the nation is already on edge after a spate of recent mass shootings, at least one of which was inspired by racist hatred, and the arrests in the past week of three men who the authorities said were planning attacks.

New Jersey State Police listed the items they found in Rubino’s car and home. 

Intratec Arms Model TEC-DC9 semi-automatic assault handgun;Cobray Arms Mac-11 9mm semi-automatic assault pistol with a high-capacity magazine;Keltec CMR30 .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle loaded with 16 .22 caliber hollow-point cartridges;High Standard Derringer .22 caliber double-barrel handgun;Polymer 80 9mm semi-automatic handgun;Ithaca M-66 20-gauge single shotgun;Remington Model 700 .223 caliber bold action rifle with scope;Thompson Center .50 caliber muzzle-loading rifle with scope;Remington Model 870 Wingmaster 12-gauge pump shotgun;New England Firearms 20-gauge single shot shotgun;Remington Model 760 .300 Savage pump rifle;Glenfield Mod 60 .22 LR caliber semi-automatic rifle;Two sawed-off double-barrel shotgun barrels;Several high-capacity magazines;Numerous silencers;An assault rifle scope;A grenade launcher;A ballistics vest; andNumerous additional ammunition of various calibers.

Joseph Rubino, a previously convicted felon, now faces a list of charges:

Joseph Rubino, 57, of Lafayette Township, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count each of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Rubino will appear in Newark federal court at a date to be determined.

If he’s found guilty, he could face significant prison time.

The count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute is punishable by a maximum of 40 years in prison; the count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison; and the count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime is punishable by a maximum of life in prison.

Posted with permission