Long Island Brothers Plead Not Guilty After Weapons, Drugs Found In Home

MOUNT SINAI, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Two brothers were in court Friday after police said they found weapons, ammunition, drugs, bomb-making materials and neo-Nazi paraphernalia inside their Suffolk County home.

Both entered not guilty pleas at their arraignment.

Edward Perkowski, 29, was arraigned on various weapons and drug possession charges. His bail was set at $100,000.

His younger brother, 25-year Sean Perkowski, was arraigned on an outstanding bench warrant for a minor code violation from the Town of Babylon.

The Perkowski brothers were chained together as they left the Suffolk police station in Patchogue for court earlier Friday morning and had some choice words for the media.

"You want a Nazi salute? Sorry a--holes," Edward Perkowski told reporters.

When asked by CBS2's Andrea Grymes why he had the weapons, he replied "because they were legally owned when I had them." He then turned to another cameraman and said  "Get the f---ing cameras out of my face."

The two were arrested Thursday at their house in Mount Sinai based on a search warrant. Inside, police said they found an arsenal of illegal weapons, including assault rifles, knives, high-capacity magazines, thousands of rounds of ammunition and bomb-making instructions.

"This was a public threat on multiple fronts because we have two individuals who clearly subscribe to a hateful violent ideology, who had an illegal arsenal at their fingertips,'' Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said Thursday. "Today's search warrant may have prevented a deadly violent incident like the one we recently saw in Orlando.''

Police said marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and $42,000 in cash were also found as well as swastikas, photos of Adolf Hitler, Nazi paraphernalia and what police called a racist manifesto inside a binder.

But at his arraignment, Edward Perkowski's attorney Matt Tuohy said lots of people had access to the house.

"Anything illegal, my client is saying, it's not attributable to him," he said. "Several people live in the house and have access to the house. My client runs a legitimate military surplus business."

Tuohy said Sean Perkowski did not know about anything illegal in the home, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.

A friend, who identified himself only as Bob, also said Edward Perkowski runs a military surplus business and that's why he had all the weapons.

"What the hell are they talking about you're going to plan some attack? I've known them my whole life. They're not gonna do anything," he said. "They're just legitimately good people."

As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, neighbors said they had been complaining for years.

Larry Bilello was relieved something is finally being done to put an end to what he said was noise, traffic and rowdy partying.

"Cops must've been called here at least 15, 20 times," he said. "We never had any problem until those people moved in."

"This has been an ongoing problem," another neighbor, Brian Saltzer, said. "I have contacted police about drug dealing, violence and weapons."

Neighbors said the brothers often hurled hate speech and violent threats.

"They hung a neo-Nazi flag from the middle of the street. Everything just didn't add up," Saltzer said.

"Nothing happened. They said they had to have proof, they didn't have proof," Mary Billello said.

Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini promised that with an uptick in mass shootings nationwide, see something say something will yield results.

"We want this information. Without this information we are powerless. So we really need the cooperation of the community," he said.

The FBI accepts public tips and local police departments now partner with the feds to vet concerns. The Suffolk County tip line is 1-800-220-TIPS.

The tip line has netted nearly 200 drug arrests, and calls about suspicious behavior are just as welcome.

Perkowski's attorney said he understands the public jitters, but in this case the drugs and weapons are not his clients'.

"Everyone has fears, I have those same fears as well, but if it's not yours, it's not yours," Tuohy said.

Edward Perkowski faces a possible 25 years to life sentence if convicted. Sean was charged with failing to answer a public urination charge. A third brother was acquitted in a racially charged shooting, he left court without comment.

Police said the Town of Brookhaven also condemned the brothers' home for safety violations.

Tip lines are for non-emergencies, 911 should be used in a 'see something, say something' emergency.