The man who was arrested last month after authorities found in his home a cache of weapons and Nazi paraphernalia used his Sussex County residence as a hub for manufacturing and selling guns and drugs, according to court documents.
When New Jersey State Police troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash involving a white Chevrolet van on July 24, the officers found in it two semiautomatic handguns, an assault rifle, multiple sawed-off shotguns, brass knuckles and other weapons, authorities said.
Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for the Lafayette house of the driver, Joseph Rubino, 57. At the two-story residence on Route 15, detectives uncovered a stockpile of guns and a laundry list of drugs, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Superior Court in Sussex County.
Detectives, authorities said, found 18 weapons — including semiautomatic rifles, handguns and a grenade launcher — 7 pounds of marijuana, 100 THC oil cartridges, edible weed gummy candies, an ounce of crystal methamphetamine and 5 ounces of hash.
Investigators also found tools “utilized in the manufacturing and modification” of the guns and paraphernalia used to make methamphetamine, the affidavit said.
In addition to the guns and drugs, detectives said, they found bumper stickers with white supremacist and neo-Nazi symbols and a document entitled, “N -word Owner’s Manual,” which contains racist materials on slavery.
Authorities say the paraphernalia containing neo-Nazi SS bolts are sometimes used by motorcycle gang members.
In January 2014, Rubino was involved in a bar brawl that involved members of the Hells Angels and other motorcycle gangs, according to a lawsuit.
A fight broke out at Stage Dolls, a go-go bar on Route 46 in Great Meadows involving at least 10 members of the Hells Angels. Rubino was stabbed at least five times in the stomach, according to a civil lawsuit Rubino filed against the club. The lawsuit said Rubino suffered serious injuries to his internal organs and severe defense wounds.
Rubino sued the club for negligence, alleging the bar should have been better equipped to handle a fight given its history of altercations among patrons. The case settled in June for an undisclosed amount. The attorney who represented Rubino in the civil case declined to comment on the specifics of the settlement.
Rubino was convicted in 1999 for writing bad checks in the amount of $200 to $1,000. He was sentenced to three years of probation.
On the current charges, Rubino faces a maximum of life in prison if he’s convicted of his most serious crime: possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Rubino also faces other federal drug-dealing offenses and weapons charges, and was charged with similar offenses in Sussex and Warren counties. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said many of the guns Rubino had came from outside New Jersey.
Rubino is being held at the Warren County jail, a prison official said. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Newark on Thursday.
An attorney for Rubino, Daniel G.P. Marchese, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A man who was seen entering Rubino’s home on Wednesday, but who declined to give his name, defended the suspect and adamantly denied Rubino had any involvement with white supremacy.
Vinessa Erminio contributed research to this report.
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