Weapons producer or avid collector? Father and son struggle costs after Staten Island raid uncovers 3D printer.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After police searched a home on the county’s south shore last week, allegedly turning up a small arsenal of unregistered firearms and a 3D printer capable of making “ghost gun” parts, they represented one Father and a son The defendants say there is more to the story.

Authorities said the Sept. 7 operation, conducted around 6:30 a.m. in an affluent Huguenot neighborhood, partially yielded eight “ghost rifles,” several AR-15s, 10 standard-issue rifles, six shotguns and a semi-automatic handgun, 58 high-capacity magazines, multiple rifle scopes and four bulletproof vests.

Secret service agents charged 33-year-old Michael Herz and his 62-year-old father Andrew in the raid.

While searching the younger Herz’s vehicle, police said they found a loaded handgun.

There are no fees for the sale of firearms in the case.

In general, there is growing concern here and across the country about untraceable “ghost gun” parts made with 3D printers and sold for high profit on the black market, according to law enforcement officials who recently spoke with Advance/SILive.com.

In a raid last week on a home in an affluent Huguenot neighborhood, authorities seized several firearms, including suspected ghost guns and a 3D printer. (Google Maps)

THE YOUNGER HEART

At the younger Herz’s arraignment in criminal court on Saturday, prosecutors asked for $2.5 million bail or $10 million bail in connection with the raid. He is charged with, among other things, possession of ten or more firearms, criminal possession of a loaded weapon and possession of an assault rifle.

Judge Curtis J. Farber last week ordered Michael Herz held on $550,000 bail or $1.05 million bond.

The defendant’s attorney, Lou Gelormino, said after a subsequent hearing Tuesday in St. George that the weapons were collector’s items and he wanted to check whether the 3D printer was actually functional.

According to the father’s lawyer, his client has a drug problem and is currently being treated at Rikers Island. Drugs seized from the home included three glass envelopes containing heroin and a plastic zip-top bag containing cocaine, according to police.

“We hope to get him the help he needs in a way that is beneficial to both him and society,” Gelormino said.

THE ELDER HEART, NYPD FAMILY

At the father’s arraignment on Friday, Manhattan-based attorney John Arlia argued that the unregistered guns belonged to his client’s son.

Andrew Herz is charged with, among other things, first-degree possession of at least ten firearms and possession of an assault rifle.

“This man has never been in trouble before,” Arlia said in an impassioned argument for lower bail. He told the court his client admitted to keeping a few registered guns in a locked safe in the basement, but that was it.

Prosecutors didn’t say so quickly, pointing to an alleged ghost gun in the safe that the father claimed was his. Additionally, the unregistered firearms and 3D printer were located just a few meters away from the registered weapons. The defendants also had the ability to make semi-automatic weapons fully automatic.

Andrew Herz, his lawyer continued, works for a commercial real estate company, comes from an NYPD family and has lived in the same house since he was nine years old. The defendant’s wife was present in the courtroom, he said.

After hearing both sides, Judge John McPadden set bail at $250,000 cash or $500,000 surety.

Hours later, the family filed the deed to the $1.1 million Powell Street home so the father could post a deposit.

Both defendants were in the courthouse on Tuesday, although only Michael Herz was scheduled to appear.

His father watched from the back row of the gallery as his son was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

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