Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that RICHARD LAUGEL was sentenced to 121 months in prison for detonating a pipe bomb in the Bronx on March 2, 2016, along with firearms and narcotics offenses.  LAUGEL pled guilty on November 8, 2018, before United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who also imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Richard Laugel’s dangerous attempt to harm his neighbor by detonating a car bomb was, thankfully, unsuccessful.  His cache of weapons was also seized, and his narcotics businesses ended thanks to the extraordinary work of our law enforcement partners, making New York City streets safer.  Now Laugel will serve a lengthy prison sentence for his crimes.”

According to the Information, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and evidence presented in court at sentencing:

On March 2, 2016, LAUGEL placed an improvised explosive device (“IED”) under the rear tire well of his neighbor’s car, which was parked near their apartment building in the Bronx, New York.  LAUGEL, a former United States Marine, had constructed the IED using a metal pipe bomb, which he packed with nails and explosives and attached to a butane canister to increase the potential lethality of the device.  LAUGEL used a remote-detonation device to activate the bomb after his neighbor entered the car and drove several blocks away.  The force of the explosion blew out the airbags in the car and buckled the car doors.  The neighbor was not injured by the explosion.

On May 22, 2018, agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), officers with the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) executed a search warrant at LAUGEL’s home in the Bronx.  Law enforcement recovered from LAUGEL’s home and garage, among other items:

575 rounds of assorted ammunition

8 silencers and 32 silencer parts

5 home-made pistols

2 commercially manufactured pistols, one of which had an obliterated serial number

2 “switches” to convert pistols into fully automatic weapons

1 bump stock

During a subsequent search of LAUGEL’s apartment located near his home, law enforcement recovered evidence consistent with the manufacturing of alprazolam for distribution to customers online, including a powder mixing machine, pill press dies to stamp pills, and boxes of alprazolam packaged for shipment to customers.

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In addition to the prison term, LAUGEL, 39, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of ATF, the NYPD, and HSI.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Moe and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.  

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that RICHARD LAUGEL was arrested yesterday and charged with firearms and narcotics offenses.  LAUGEL will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in Manhattan federal court.  

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, Richard Laugel had accumulated an arsenal of dangerous weapons in his Bronx apartment, including a grenade launcher and an assault rifle.  Thankfully, the local and federal law enforcement officers were able to arrest Laugel without incident, and his trove of dangerous weapons has been seized.”

HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said:  “It is important to note the collaborative efforts that went into locating and apprehending this individual.  And from what was found during this investigation, he appears to be a threat to public safety and someone we don’t want on the streets.  This collaboration, brought together by HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Taskforce, is paramount to finding the criminals who bring in goods from abroad to support their criminal activity in our local communities.”

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said:  “Laugel’s alleged conduct once again demonstrates the dangerous intersection between the distribution of narcotics, the illicit possession of firearms, and violent crime.  Laugel’s alleged conduct presented an extreme danger to the community, and we are grateful that he will now face prosecution in the Southern District of New York.  I would like to express my appreciation to our law enforcement partners for their work on this investigation.”

As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

On May 22, 2018, HSI and the NYPD executed a search warrant at LAUGEL’s home in the Bronx in connection with an alleged illegal operation to distribute controlled substances.  During the search, law enforcement officers recovered from LAUGEL’s home and garage, among other items, firearms silencers, a grenade launcher, an AR-15 Rifle, three handguns, two of which had defaced serial numbers, plastic molds used to make the lower receiver of handguns, firearms barrels, drill press and milling machines, ammunition, and a teddy bear that contained approximately 30 grams of cocaine.   

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LAUGEL is charged with the unlawful possession of firearms silencers, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; possession with intent to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and the unlawful possession of firearms with defaced serial numbers ,which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI, ATF, and the NYPD.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Moe and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 



[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.