NYC doorman arrested for dealing guns at workplace: Manhattan DA
A Manhattan doorman who operated a side hustle dealing firearms outside his building was busted along with three others in a gun-trafficking ring takedown, authorities announced Tuesday.
Roberto Carmona, 51, is accused of peddling 80 guns and ammunition to an undercover NYPD detective while working at 423 W. 55th St. in Midtown.
“Roberto Carmona allegedly used his job as a doorman, out of a Midtown office building, as a one-man gun show, storing ammunition in his locker and selling multiple deadly weapons in front of the building,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. at a joint press conference with NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.
The building houses a Planet Fitness and other commercial businesses.
“He’s also accused of bringing his work home, selling dozens of guns outside his Morningside Heights building, where he lives,” said Vance, standing in front of three tables displaying the 80 firearms Carmona allegedly sold, which included 63 semiautomatic pistols, 11 revolvers and one sawed-off shotgun.
The alleged deals with the undercover took place between January and September, court papers allege. He charged between $500 and $3,700 for each firearm.
A total of 15 sales took place near Carmona’s home and at the West 55th Street building, officials said.
Alan Goode, 30, and Melvyn McDonald, 41 allegedly bought the guns in Tennessee and sold them to Harold Floran, 51. All three men live in the Volunteer State, which is known for its extremely lax gun laws.
Floran then met up with Carmona in Tennessee, Virginia or New Jersey to sell the deadly weapons to him, accepting payment via Zelle, according to prosecutors. Usually, the pair transported the guns in their cars — but on one occasion Floran allegedly used a U-Haul, prosecutors said.
In an unrelated case, Floran was the source of the firearm used by Sterling Stewart in 2020 to gun down Darnell Brown, 23, on a Manhattan street as an 8-year-old boy watched, Vance said.
The four co-defendants were hit with a 141-count indictment, including charges of first-degree criminal sale of a firearm and conspiracy.
“I don’t see guns on this table. What I see are victims,” Shea said at the presser held at One Police Plaza. “I see kids gunned down in the street. I see mothers standing at funerals. I haven’t mentioned the undercover officers that worked this case. But think of the incredible bravery, as they go into harm’s way to keep New Yorkers safe.”
Carmona pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court and was ordered held without bail.
His lawyer Bryan Konoski didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Goode, McDonald and Floran were taken into custody in Tennessee and are awaiting extradition. Their attorneys couldn’t immediately be identified.
