Plastic Surgeon From Great Neck Pleads Guilty To Gun Felony

GREAT NECK, NY — A plastic surgeon from Great Neck accused of possessing a cache of weapons in 2019 has pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge.

Dr. Matthew Bonanno, 49, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon on July 21, according to Nassau County District Court records. Prosecutors dropped 13 other charges against him that alleged he had an arsenal of weapons in his possession.

He faces five years of probation, according to multiple news outlets.

Authorities launched an investigation into Bonanno two years ago, when they received a report that he had made threats against his estranged wife — a Westchester County resident — and her family.

Police in Westchester said they were contacted by someone who heard the threats and believed Bonanno was armed.

Officers went to Growler's Beer Bistro in Tuckahoe — where Bonanno was at the time — and found him to be illegally in possession of a loaded Glock semi-automatic handgun, authorities said.

After they took him into custody, they reportedly found a stash of weapons in his BMW, which was parked outside his ex-wife's home. Police said they recovered five assault rifles (fully loaded with high capacity magazines), three handguns, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, heavy ballistic body armor, handcuffs, full head cover face masks, and more.

A search of his Long Island residence yielded another large cache of assault rifles, a shotgun, handguns, high-capacity magazines, body armor, ammunition, smoke grenades and other weapons, police said. Those were turned over to the Nassau County Police Department.

Bonanno appeared before a judge in Westchester, where he pleaded not guilty to more than 50 weapons charges in September 2019, according to The Island Now. Earlier this month, news outlets reported he pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The charges brought against him in Westchester are separate from the ones in Nassau County.

Bonanno is scheduled to appear in Nassau County Court on Oct. 1.