Man Posing As Police Officer Found On LI With Firearms, Fake IDs: PD

UNIONDALE, NY — A man was arrested on Long Island Wednesday after posing as a law enforcement officer and possessing multiple firearms and fraudulent identification cards, police said.

According to Nassau County police, the incident took place at 8:42 a.m. in Uniondale. John Galifianakis, 73, who is without a known address, went to the Department of Social Services located on Charles Lindberg Boulevard, posing as a law enforcement officer, police said.

He approached an employee requesting assistance in safeguarding his firearm; the concerned employee immediately notified police, authorities said.

Upon arrival, Galifianakis was located and found to be in possession of numerous fraudulent identification cards, multiple firearms, and additional law enforcement apparel, police said.

Further investigation revealed that Galifianakis was not a law enforcement officer for any agency, and he was placed under arrest without incident, police said.

Galifianakis was charged with two counts of second-degree forgery, criminal impersonation, criminal possession of a weapon and five counts of failing to safeguard a firearm, police said.

He was slated for arraignment on Thursday at First District Court in Hempstead.