Pawtucket man charged for drug trafficking, having 20 ghost guns

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said a Pawtucket man was arrested for drug trafficking and possessing 20 ghost guns.

Ferdinando Lombardi is facing 77 charges including 48 counts of possession of a firearm while possessing with intent to deliver a controlled substance and 24 counts of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence.

Neronha said that Rhode Island State Police and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force officers began investigating the 56-year-old in March of this year, as they suspected he was involved in drug trafficking in the greater Providence area.

Neronha added that officers surveilled the defendant’s home on Windmill Street and observed “behavior consistent with drug trafficking.”

Police arrested Lombardi on the morning March 28 and executed a search warrant of his home.

They found fentanyl tables and grams of cocaine, 20 Polymer80 ghost guns, 12 Polymer80 ghost gun lower kits, seven Polymer80 ghost gun upper assemblies, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver, a Colt .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun, an Iver Johnson .38 caliber revolver, an Iver Johnson double action .22LR revolver, as well as various gun parts and ammunition.

Lombardi is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Oct. 18.