The 53-year-old owner of a long-standing Utz potato chips stall in Lexington Market and his 21-year-old girlfriend are accused of running a side business over the counter, selling guns to Bloods, Crips and Hells Angels among others, according to a criminal complaint filed late last month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Michael Papantonakis, who has worked at the stand since his father bought it in 1970, is also accused of unsuccessfully trying to have the market's executive director beaten with "a bat or something, just enough to break his arms and legs," the document claims, though it does not specify the nature of the alleged dispute.
Both Papantonakis and his girlfriend of at least three years, Sharon Heberle, denied through relatives Tuesday the federal charges of engaging in the unlawful dealing of firearms. According to a search of court records, neither has a criminal history. If convicted, they could each face a maximum of five years in prison.
FOR THE RECORD - Because of incorrect information supplied by the Maryland U.S. attorney's office, an article in Wednesday's editions incorrectly stated the dates Michael Papantonakis, who owns an Utz potato chip stall at Lexington Market, is alleged to have illegally sold guns to undercover operatives. A criminal complaint filed against him in federal court last month claims he sold weapons from his shop and elsewhere between September 2007 and March 2009. The article also failed to credit the City Paper with breaking the news on its Web site this week.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the errors.
A nine-page affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, filed March 31 by a task force officer within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, describes a surprisingly casual world of gun dealing, where anyone could buy a firearm for the right price: Money was counted out in the open, and customers were invited to inspect guns behind the counter, the affidavit says.
Papantonakis, a former bounty hunter, is alleged to have sold guns for years, including more than a dozen handguns and rifles to people working for or with the ATF in six transactions, dating from September 2007 through March 2008. The transactions were documented in testimony and surveillance equipment recordings, according to the ATF officer. (The affidavit contains incorrect dates and names, which the Maryland U.S. attorney's office corrected for The Baltimore Sun.)
The prices for the firearms ranged from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, with the occasional discount: Three rifles were marked down to $2,000 from $2,350 on the condition that the person making the buy, an undercover operative posing as an MS-13 gang member, also beat up the market's manager, Casper J. Genco Jr., according to the documents. "If it's true, it's a shock to me," Genco said.
Papantonakis is being held, though his court appointed attorney has filed a motion to reverse the detention ruling. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
