Feds Charge Oak Forest Man With Machine Gun Trafficking, Possession

CHICAGO, IL — A 20-year-old Oak Forest man was indicted on federal firearm charges for allegedly trafficking 25 “Glock switches” that convert handguns into fully automatic machine guns.

The indictment charges Anthony Prisco with illegally possessing and transferring machine guns and illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Prisco is being held in federal custody without bond. Arraignment is set for August 7.

According to the indictment and a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Prisco in June of this year sold 25 machine gun conversion devices, a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and a 3D printer.

Unbeknownst to Prisco, the buyer was an undercover law enforcement officer. The printer that Prisco sold to the officer had been used to print the machine gun conversion devices, the charges allege. A machine gun conversion device, commonly known as a “Glock switch” or “auto sear,” equips firearms to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.

Prisco was on probation for a state firearm conviction when officials say he sold the guns to the undercover officer. As a previously convicted felon, Prisco was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

Each charge against Prisco is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is a centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence. As part of the Chicago firearms trafficking strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with ATF and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads and potential suspects in violent gun crimes.