Staten Island Man Armed to the Teeth
Faces 43 counts of illegal weapons possession
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An 85-year-old man brandished a BB gun asking Huntley police to revoke a $250 ticket.
The Notorious B.I.G. once rapped, "I got seven MAC-11's, about eight .38's, nine 9's, ten MAC-10's, this **** never ends.."
Well one Staten Island man is making a little notoriety of his own by keeping an arsenal comparable to the late, great Biggie Smalls.
Cops say Anthony Cortese, of Midland Beach, had eight shotguns, 10 rifles, a handgun, hundreds of bullets and fireworks, as well as 41 armor-piercing, aluminum-tipped rounds that explode on impact.
But Cortese, 47, just says he a "big game hunter" -- despite admitting to the Staten Island Advance that he doesn't have any permits for any of the rifles of shotguns.
"I just had them my whole life, and I never went and got a gun permit," he told the paper. "It's just a stupid move on my behalf. Even if i had a permit they would have taken them."
Cortese says the weapons are valued at tens of thousands of dollars, and some are engraved family heirlooms.
Officials found the guns -- including four rifles and five shotguns in Cortese's 11-year-old son's closet -- in a raid Friday morning. Cortese is due back in court Wednesday. The charges include 43 counts of illegal weapon possession, and child endangerment.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
