Ex-Bragg soldier arrested with 'arsenal' of stolen weapons

A former Fort Bragg soldier was arrested in New York Thursday on charges that he stole a cache of weapons from the military, authorities said.

Posted 5:12 p.m. Feb 17, 2012 — Updated 5:30 p.m. Feb 17, 2012

BRONX, N.Y. — A former Fort Bragg soldier was arrested in New York Thursday on charges that he stole a cache of weapons from the military, authorities said.

Anthony Cibelli, 24, of Bronx, was charged with one count each of theft of government property and unlicensed transportation of explosives.

New York police searched an apartment in December and seized two grenades, six M-16 30-round magazines, two improvised explosive devices, four firearms and other ammunition.

Federal authorities said Cibelli, who served in Iraq in 2006 and 2008, admitted to smuggling the weapons back to Fort Bragg in a shipping container after his last deployment. When he was discharged in 2010, he arranged to transport them to New York.

“Cibelli had a small arsenal in his residence," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk said in a statement. "Our armed forces are issued weapons like these to carry out their mission, not to become personal property after their service. Keeping grenades and ammunition is more than reckless behavior, it is a threat to the safety of the city and the country."

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