Former Firearms Dealer Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing a Machinegun

ERIE, Pa. – A former resident of Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 21 months in jail, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release on his conviction of violating federal firearms laws, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on James William McMichael, 72.
According to information presented to the court, McMichael possessed a machinegun not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. McMichael, who was a former federally licensed firearms dealer, ordered various firearm parts which were then fully assembled into a functioning machinegun. The machinegun was then hidden in the ceiling of McMichael’s Port Allegany home.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Song commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Port Allegany Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of McMichael.