Plastic surgeon accused of stockpiling weapons arraigned on additional charges

The Great Neck plastic surgeon accused of stockpiling illegal weapons was arraigned in court on additional weapons charges in Mineola Friday.

News 12 Staff

Nov 15, 2019, 7:58 PM

Updated 1,863 days ago

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The Great Neck plastic surgeon accused of stockpiling illegal weapons was arraigned in court on additional weapons charges in Mineola Friday.
Matthew Bonanno is charged in a 13-count indictment. Police say they found multiple semi-automatic assault rifles in his apartment in Great Neck.
As News 12 reported, Bonanno was already indicted in Westchester when an officer in Tuckahoe found guns and assault rifles in his car when it was parked at his ex-wife’s home.
Bonanno's attorney acknowledges his client had the guns, but says Bonanno is a gun collector. “He should not have a gun collection in New York, he should have disposed of it before he brought it from Florida, where it's legal,” says Attorney Paul Gentile.
Gentile added that police had no right to search the Great Neck apartment. He says Tuckahoe police learned about the guns in that apartment after Bonanno had already asked for an attorney.
“They learned of the weapons being in his home by asking him. He was already in custody, he had invoked his right to counsel…I think it’s fair to say that search warrant is flawed,” says Gentile.
Gentile also says body cam video reveals that the officers breaking into Bonanno’s car in Westchester shows did not have the authority to do so. He says this is because Bonanno’s ex-wife is shown in the video telling police that she did not give them permission to go into the car, which was on her property at the time.

The accusations started when a friend called Tuckahoe police and said Bonanno had threatened to kill his ex-wife and her family. Gentile denies his client ever said that.
Bonanno pleaded not guilty in court.
The Mineola judge set his bond at $40,000 on top of what he already has in Westchester County, setting it to a total of $140,000.