A Springfield man faces a slew of charges after pleading guilty to illegal firearms activities, including the distribution of around 50 "ghost guns" and a number of "Glock switch" machinegun conversion devices. Edward Nathan Gale, 24, entered his plea last Thursday and is now awaiting sentencing scheduled for mid-June, the Justice Department reports.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Gale's crimes spanned much of 2022, during which he manufactured and peddled the untraceable firearms across Kansas and Massachusetts. From his Springfield base, Gale operated a lucrative illicit trade of ghost guns—firearms without serial numbers and thus invisible to traditional law enforcement tracking.
The defendant also dealt in so-called Glock switches, devices that can effectively turn a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon. Investigators reported that Gale smuggled about 100 of these switches into the country from China, distributing at least 60 before authorities clamped down. A January 2023 raid on his residence revealed not just the conversion devices but also a semi-automatic rifle and numerous rounds of ammunition―all unlawfully possessed by Gale as he had previously been convicted of a felony.
Gale, already a felon prohibited from firearm ownership, now confronts the possibility of a maximum 15-year sentence on the charge of felon in possession of firearm and ammunition. An additional five-year maximum could be tacked on for unlawful firearms dealing, along with a ten-year maximum for unlawful possession of machineguns. He's also looking at a potential three years of supervised release for each count, the U.S. Attorney's Office detailed.
The case was brought to the forefront through collaborative efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Springfield Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office is spearheading the prosecution. As part of his plea, Gale agreed to the forfeiture of the confiscated firearms and equipment used for making ghost guns, further dismantling his operation and strengthening the case against unlawful weapon manufacturing and distribution.
