Quoted:
The
                             fiancee said Bernstein, who has no criminal record, was
                             menacing her with a handgun, Brown said.

Quoted:

DA: Lawyer Had Arsenal
Jul 1, 2002
By Herbert Lowe and Andrew Johnson
STAFF WRITERS

July 2, 2002


An attorney who serves as an auxiliary police officer has been arrested and accused of [red]stockpiling an arsenal of deadly weapons and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition[/red] in his Fresh Meadows home, authorities said yesterday.

Police seized 16 guns, the ammunition and more than 80 high-capacity magazines [blue](oh my god!)[/blue]used to feed weapons from Philip Bernstein's house at 69-40 Fresh Meadow Lane last week, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

The seizure netted five handguns, two 9-mm semiautomatic assault rifles[blue](probably marlin camp 9s...)[/blue], six other rifles and three shotguns, one of which had a shoulder stock marked "for law-enforcement use only."[blue](knoxx copstock anyone?)[/blue] Weighing more than 200 pounds, the ammunition was in various calibers and can be used in rifles, pistols and shotguns, Brown said.

"This arsenal of weapons is really quite unbelievable," Brown said at a news conference in which the seizure was displayed across the full length of a 24-foot-by-6-foot conference table.

[red][b]Bernstein's attorney, Kevin Campbell, said he is a "sports shooting enthusiast" who is now a victim of "anti-gun hysteria."[/red][/b]

The arsenal was discovered when Bernstein's fiancee, who lives with him, called police during a domestic quarrel Wednesday. The fiancee said Bernstein, who has no criminal record, was menacing her with a handgun, Brown said.

When Bernstein, 46, a general practitioner, let police into the house they saw a shotgun next to a bed. Asked if he had any other weapons, Bernstein, an auxiliary officer in the 107th Precinct for the last couple of years, showed them eight rifles and five handguns, as well as numerous rounds of ammunition that were stored in a safe.

Eight of the guns were licensed, authorities said.

They found two additional weapons after returning with a search warrant.

While saying "no useful purpose exists for anyone to maintain an assortment of weaponry such as this," [blue](the second ammendment aint about duck hunting...)[/blue]Brown said he was especially troubled because Bernstein lives two blocks from PS 173 on 67th Avenue.

Bernstein has yet to make any statements to police and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

He was arraigned Friday and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and with violating the weapons provision of the city code. He faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted.

Campbell described his client as a "big teddy bear" in poor health who never menaced anyone.

The defense attorney said the fiancee, who was not identified, told him that the quarrel was over use of a computer in the house. The woman declined to comment to Newsday at the house.

Neighbors described Bernstein as a well-meaning and considerate man and said they were surprised and saddened by the allegations.

Britu Haile, 52, said Bernstein often "walks around the block" as a way of keeping an eye on the neighborhood and recently offered to help her daughter, a recent college graduate, find a job.

As for the arsenal, Haile said, [blue](insert woody allen-type voice here)[/blue]"The side [of him] I knew was not like that."

Quoted:
FOX news reported this morning that the LAX shooter was heavily armed with two pistols and a knife.