MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – A Warren County man has been sentenced in connection with a ghost gun investigation, according to Acting Morris County Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood.
Joseph Palumbo Jr., 34, of Columbia, was sentenced on Sept. 13 to an aggregate sentence of five years in New Jersey State Prison, with 42 months of parole ineligibility, Calderwood said.
Palumbo Jr. pled guilty on May 20 to two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm and two counts of third-degree possession of a firearm without a serial number, Calderwood said.
An investigation revealed that Palumbo Jr. carried out the illegal manufacture and sale of ghost guns between December 2023 and February 2024 in Morris and Warren counties. The sales involved one homemade handgun without a serial number, five homemade AR-platform assault firearms without serial numbers, and two large-capacity magazines, Calderwood said.
Palumbo Jr. was taken into custody and charged following a motor vehicle stop on Feb. 8, Calderwood said.
During the subsequent execution of search warrants for Palumbo Jr.’s Columbia residence and his vehicle, two additional homemade AR-platform assault firearms without serial numbers, approximately 36 additional firearms, numerous firearm components used to manufacture firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and approximately three firearm silencers were seized, Calderwood said.
