The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Mark Tullock, 37, of New Philadelphia to 70 months’ imprisonment and a two-year term of supervised release, for orchestrating the unlawful purchase of several firearms.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, on various dates in 2016 and 2017 in Schuylkill County, Tullock directed other people to serve as “straw purchasers” for several handgun-style firearms, which Tullock himself was not permitted to purchase or possess based upon his prior criminal record.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St John prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.