City cops seize rifles, guns, machete in Brooklyn raid

Assault rifles, handguns, a machete and an umbrella with a dagger hidden in its handle were among more than 30 weapons New York City police confiscated from a Gravesend house located across the street from an elementary school, officials said Saturday.

Four people - a couple, their son and a family friend - were arrested in the raid Friday and face multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Thirty-five rifles and guns, three daggers, a sword, a machete, a hunting knife and the umbrella were removed from the house, in addition to a "large quantity of ammunition" and pills, police said.

Police identified the four arrested as Thomas Siano, 57, his wife Kathleen, 58, their son Vincent, 29, and Michael Poole, 29, who police said is a friend of the family. The Sianos' home on West Street is directly across from PS 216.

Police said a tip and a subsequent investigation led them to search the house, where they had reason to believe the Siano men had guns without permits.

"We have no reason to believe at this time that guns were for sale," a police source said, pointing out that several of the weapons appear to be old. The four are not suspected of selling drugs, the source said.

The source said it is likely that Kathleen Siano and Poole just happened to be home when officers arrived there to execute a search warrant.

The 35 firearms included a Colt model 1911 handgun, three Savage Arms shotguns, and a mini assault weapon. The handguns ranged in caliber from .22 to .45, and the shotguns were 12- and 16-gauge weapons, police said.