Weapons Cache Seized In Arizona

Suspect Has No Apparent Connection To Any Groups

(CBS)  Federal investigators working on a nationwide illegal-weapons case discovered an arsenal of rocket launchers, hand grenades, machine guns and military explosives in a storage locker near Phoenix, Arizona.

Authorities said among more than 200 weapons seized by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were at least 10 rocket launchers and bazookas, some with rockets.

The ATF agents in Arizona acted on a tip from federal authorities in Massachusetts, reports Mark Katic of CBS radio station WBZ-AM. The U.S. Attorney's office said the cache of weapons belonged to Scott Segal of Massachusetts, indicted last month on two weapons counts Massachusetts as part of an investigation into machine-gun trafficking.

"As a result of the information we received in that investigation, we sent personnel to Phoenix and a search warrant was obtained for a storage facility," said ATF spokesman Jim McNally in Boston.

The weapons cache included a rocket-propelled grenade, which is a shoulder-fired weapon that can be used against armored vehicles, as well as assault rifles, hand grenades, flame-throwers and thousands of rounds of ammunition, ATF spokesman Thomas Mangan said in Phoenix.

"It's disturbing to find an arsenal like this," said Mangan.

Agents also found antique muzzle loaders and other collectible weapons. Some weapons dated back to World War II and the Korean War.

McNally said there is nothing linking Segal to any group at this time.

"It is still early, but indications at this time are there are no such connections," he told WBZ-AM.

Segal, 40, was arrested Dec. 30 in Worcester, Mass. He was indicted in federal court on charges of being a felon in possession of firearms — a .45-caliber machine gun and a 9mm machine gun — and unlawful possession of machine guns, according to Christina Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Boston.

Segal was released Jan. 2 on a $10,000 bond — with the condition he turn over the Arizona weapons collection, according to records from U.S. District Court in Worcester, Mass.

Court records show that in 1992, federal prosecutors in Phoenix filed nine weapons charges against Segal for possessing a machine gun, unregistered firearms and a gun with no serial number. The case stemmed from a 1991 Christmas Eve search of his Tempe home.

He was convicted on one count in July 1993 and placed on two years' probation.