Sussex County Man Charged with Unlawfully Possessing Arsenal

NEWARK, N.J. – A Sussex County, New Jersey, has been charged with possessing an arsenal of weapons and ammunition, along with white supremacist and racist propaganda, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

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.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On July 24, 2019, following a motor vehicle accident, officers with the N.J. State Police observed numerous weapons and ammunition inside Rubino’s crashed vehicle. After executing court-authorized warrants to search Rubino’s vehicle and residence, law enforcement recovered from Rubino’s car and house the following:

• 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; and
• Numerous additional ammunition of various calibers.

In addition to the firearms and ammunition, law enforcement recovered approximately 70 grams of methamphetamine, seven kilograms of marijuana, and 200 marijuana vape cartridges from Rubino’s house.

Rubino was also in possession of a box containing clothing and bumper stickers with “SS Bolts,” which are common white supremacist and neo-Nazi symbols, as well as a document entitled “N****r Owner’s Manual,” containing racist material and purporting to be an instruction manual for owning a slave.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited members of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Richard T. Burke, and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Francis A. Koch for their assistance.

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.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.