On Friday the US Attorney in the District of Connecticut announced that a former Greenwich Police Dept officer, Joseph Ryan, was arrested and charged for knowingly providing firearms to a convicted felon.
Ryan, 56, of Trumbull, was a member of the Greenwich Police Dept when he allegedly provided the guns, according to a release from John Durham, the US Attorney for Connecticut.
As alleged in the complaint, on April 27, 2018, Ansonia Police executed a state search warrant at an address in Ansonia in order to locate and seize 12 firearms that were registered to a pistol permit holder at the residence.
Investigators could only locate 5 firearms during the search. The 5 firearms were then transported to the Ansonia Police Department for safekeeping.
On April 3, 2019, Ryan, who at the time was a police officer with the Greenwich Police Department, went to the Ansonia Police Department and took custody of the five firearms that had been seized.
It is further alleged that, in August and September 2019, members of ATF and the New Haven Police Dept made controlled purchases of 4 firearms from Malique Martin.
Three of the four firearms purchased were among the firearms that Ryan took into his custody from the Ansonia Police Dept on April 3, 2019.
The investigation revealed that Ryan transferred firearms to an individual who he knew was a convicted felon, and who helped facilitate heroin transactions between Ryan and Ryan’s heroin supplier. Some of the firearms were then transferred to Martin.
The charge of knowingly providing a firearm to a convicted felon carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Ryan was a Sergeant with Greenwich Police when he retired last summer. He had served the Town of Greenwich 33 years. According to police at the time, Ryan was hired in 1986 after he graduating from Iona College with a degree in criminal justice. After attending the police academy he was assigned to the patrol division. He worked as the midnight shift supervisor for many years and received many awards and recognitions.
Mr. Durham stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ryan appeared on Friday before US Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was released on a $100,000 bond.
Malique Martin, 24, of Ansonia, was arrested on October 2, 2019. On January 16, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He is awaiting sentencing.
This investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), New Haven Police Dept and Ansonia Police Dept.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Maria del Pilar Gonzalez.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.