Hudson Valley Man Has Arsenal Of Firearms, Explosive Devices: Feds

DOBBS FERRY, NY — A Hudson Valley man was arrested after being accused of having an arsenal of illegal weapons, including “ghost guns,” as well as an “alarming” number of explosive devices at his Dobbs Ferry home.

Damian Williams, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Thursday that James Neff, 61, of Dobbs Ferry, was charged with the possession of a firearm and ammunition after a felony conviction.

His arrest Wednesday comes after the discovery by law enforcement of a trove of firearms, including multiple personally manufactured firearms and ammunition, according to prosecutors.

Williams said Neff once again illegally stockpiled firearms, “some 23 years after having been convicted on similar state charges for criminal possession of a weapon.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith called the number of suspected explosives and firearms “alarming.”

“There is no reasonable explanation to justify the arsenal law enforcement discovered,” he said, “and convicted felons with access to such armaments pose an incredible threat to public safety.”

Prosecutors said, on Wednesday, following an investigation, members of law enforcement executed search warrants at Neff’s residence and two storage units known to be possessed and rented by him.

Authorities said they found more than 30 firearms, including those that appear to be personally manufactured and assault rifle-style firearms, a significant amount of ammunition and suspected explosives-related materials, including multiple books on how to make homemade or improvised explosives, such as “The Anarchist Arsenal, Improvised Incendiary and Explosives Techniques,” “How to Bury Your Goods” and multiple volumes of the “Improvised Munitions Black Book.”

In addition, police also found suspected precursors to explosives, suspected low explosives or smokeless powders and other items consistent with the preparation of homemade explosive devices, including what appears to be fuses that can be used to initiate a low explosive, cardboard containers with endcaps, a pipe with two endcaps and grenade bodies, items which could be used to create readily assembled explosive devices.

After these searches, police said Neff admitted to owning these firearms and suspected explosives chemicals and related materials and to storing them at his house in Dobbs Ferry before moving them to storage units.

Neff is charged with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition after a felony conviction, having previously been convicted on New York state charges of a crime punishable for a term longer than one year, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

If anyone has any information about this case, they should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.