A federal firearms licensee has been sentenced to prison for selling firearms without proper documentation. Michael John Pellicione, 76, from Port St. Lucie, received a 15-month prison sentence followed by one year of supervised release and a $7,500 fine. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore in Fort Pierce on March 13.
Pellicione pleaded guilty in December 2024 to five counts of failing to keep proper records of firearm sales, violating 18 U.S.C. Sections 922(b)(5) and 914(a)(1)(D). He was initially charged in September 2024 and indicted by a federal grand jury the following month.
Court documents revealed that Pellicione operated as an FFL under the name Mike’s Gun Shop from his home. In April 2024, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) found that firearms sold by Pellicione were recovered in Canada and Jamaica. The investigation showed he failed to log at least six firearms into his acquisition and disposition record.
Pellicione admitted to taking pictures of used firearms dropped off by customers and sending them to potential buyers without logging them or conducting background checks as required by law.
Federal law mandates that FFLs record all received or made firearms in an A&D book with detailed information about each transaction.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of HSI Miami, and Acting Special Agent in Charge John F. Dion Jr. of ATF's Miami Field Division.
The case was investigated by HSI Fort Pierce and ATF Fort Pierce Field Office with Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger prosecuting.
Further court documents can be accessed on the Southern District of Florida's website or through PACER under case number 24-cr-14055.