Oak Forest man sold machine gun conversion ‘switches’ to undercover agent: feds

Anthony Prisco, 20, was on probation for a state firearm charge at the time of the sale in June, according to prosecutors.

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The Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago.

A south suburban man allegedly sold handgun switches to an undercover federal agent.

Sun-Times file

A south suburban man sold an undercover federal agent 25 “Glock switches” that allow handguns to fire multiple rounds in a single trigger pull, like a machine gun, according to prosecutors.

Anthony Prisco, a 20-year-old from Oak Forest, allegedly sold the switches — also known as “auto sears” — as well as a 3D printer and a .38 caliber pistol with an “obliterated” serial number to the agent in June, according to an indictment announced Friday by prosecutors in Chicago’s federal district court.

Officials said the printer had been used to make the switches, which can allow a gun to fire up to 20 rounds in about a second.

Prisco faces further charges for having the weapon he tried to sell, because he was on probation for a state-level firearm conviction at the time, according to prosecutors.

If convicted, Prisco faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the four federal charges.

He was ordered held without bond, with arraignment slated for Monday.

Chicago police have reported a steep uptick in the seizure of such machine gun conversion devices in recent years, with 356 recovered in 2021 compared to just 12 in 2018.

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