Two charged with supplying
gun in armored guard slaying

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Twelve more illegal-gun traffickers, including a man who allegedly purchased the gun that was used to kill a pair of armored-truck guards at a Rhawnhurst bank last October, have been arrested since a gun violence task force was established in December 2006.
That was the word last week from District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett and state Sen. Vincent Fumo.
The two men gunned down in the Wachovia bank robbery, retired Philadelphia police officers Joseph Alullo, 54, and William Widmaier, 65, were killed with a 9mm handgun purchased by Jason Lighty of the 6200 block of Catherine St.
Lighty allegedly purchased the weapon at C&C Sports Center in July 2003 in a legal transaction but illegally sold the gun to a co-worker, Eric Benson, at National Car Rental at Philadelphia International Airport. Lighty and Benson, 25, of the 1500 block of Ellsworth St., are charged with illegal transfer of firearms and conspiracy.
Mustafa Ali, the suspect in the shooting deaths of the two guards, who were ambushed at an ATM, is charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, robbery and related crimes. A third guard, Joseph Walczak, 70, was cut by breaking glass when the gunman fired a shot at him as he waited in the armored truck.
Alie remains in custody without bail. A trial date has not been set.
The task force, which operates under the direction of the attorney general’s office in cooperation with the district attorney’s office and Philadelphia police, is still investigating how Ali obtained the gun.
"We need to fill in the space between Benson and Ali," Abraham said.
Task force special agents also arrested Michael Solecki, 53, of the 4700 block of Richmond St., following a six-month undercover investigation.
He allegedly sold two .38-caliber handguns, one .44-caliber handgun and one shotgun on the streets of Frankford.
Additionally, search warrants resulted in the seizure of five rifles, three handguns and more than $30,000 in cash. Solecki is charged with numerous weapons violations including first-, second- and third-degree felonies.
Sean Kelley, 28, of the 100 block of W. Logan St., had been arrested Nov. 28 in connection with a home-invasion robbery of an apartment on the 2400 block of Tremont St. in Bustleton.
In a subsequent investigation, task force agents discovered that Kelley had allegedly purchased six firearms that he later resold on the street for cash. He was then charged with firearms violations, conspiracy, unsworn falsification and tampering with public records.
Eric Christinzio, 20, of the 2800 block of S. 16th St., and Danny Russo, 22, of the 1800 block of Forrestal St., were arrested for firearms violations, conspiracy and theft in connection with the New Year’s Eve tragedy in which police shot into a Germantown home, killing one person and injuring two others.
Christinzio and Russo allegedly sold Melvin Williams, 22, of the 1300 block of S. 22nd St., two of five handguns and a rifle they had allegedly stolen on Dec. 27, 2007. Williams fired the handguns into the air about 30 times on New Year’s Eve, precipitating the police response.
Since its inception, the task force has opened more than 500 investigations, made 112 arrests and seized 190 firearms, as well as assisted police in solving numerous crimes, including one homicide. With an annual budget of $5 million, it boasts 27 special agents, who are former Philadelphia police officers with an average of 25 years of experience and operate in every division in the city.
"All they do is straw purchases," Abraham said.
"Straws" are people without criminal records who purchase guns for convicted felons. Pennsylvania law prohibits a convicted felon from purchasing a firearm, so they turn to straws, weapons for sale on the street, or stolen weapons.
By June, 15 new firearms examiners should be available, for a total of 21. They’ll tackle a backlog of more than 5,000 firearms and innumerable shell casings and other evidence entered into a database to take advantage of technology, Abraham said.
"Anytime a firearm is recovered, we’re going to find out where it came from and how it got into commerce," she said.
Abraham hopes to prosecute straw purchasers as an accessory before the fact to murder when it can be established that the "straw" provided a gun to a suspect who committed the crime.
"The crime is just as bad (as murder)," Abraham said.
Fumo, who spearheaded the effort and obtained the necessary funding, said the money was very well spent, cuts down on loss of life and attacks violent crime.
"Eventually the message will get out that what was a low-risk, high-reward crime is extremely high risk," Fumo said. ••
To report an illegal handgun or to have a firearm removed from a property, call the gun violence task force hotline at 215-686-9585.
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com