An illegal, untraceable homemade “ghost gun” and plenty of cocaine was found in the home of a Cambridge man arrested Wednesday, authorities said, with an investigation by Cambridge and state police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency leading to the arrest.
Michael Burke, 49, was the subject of a search warrant executed on Mount Auburn Street and Putnam Avenue in the Riverside neighborhood on the outskirts of Harvard Square. When Burke was searched, authorities found a “ghost gun” – a homemade firearm that had “an attached switch to give the firearm automatic firing capabilities” according to a press release from Cambridge police. Authorities also found a separate unregistered firearm, more than $8,000 and more than 200 grams of cocaine.
Burke was taken into custody to face charges of trafficking more than 200 grams of cocaine, possession of a large-capacity firearm or feeding device, firearm or ammunition without firearms identification card, possession of a machine gun – the homemade firearm – and possession of an undetectable firearm. He was arraigned Thursday in Cambridge District Court and ordered held for a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
It’s the second large-scale drug bust around Harvard and Harvard Square within the past three months.
Schuyler Oppenheimer, 33, was arrested July 18 after a raid on his home at 36 Parker St., West Cambridge, near the Radcliffe Quadrangle. Authorities call Oppenheimer a “current and historical large-scale manufacturer and supplier of pressed pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine,” and said that during the raid they discovered more than 5,000 grams worth of orange pills that tested positive for methamphetamine. Trash from Oppenheimer’s Everett home included similar orange pills, which also contained methamphetamine.
This is Burke’s second recent arrest on cocaine trafficking charges, and they come just over a month after he was granted a reprieve on others. On March 10, Cambridge police received a report of “drug activity in a motor vehicle” on Franklin Street. Burke was arrested for “trafficking cocaine, possession to distribute a class A drug (subsequent offense), possession to distribute a class B drug (subsequent offense), possession to distribute a class D drug (subsequent offense), and carrying a dangerous weapon,” which was a spring-loaded knife, according to the March 8-10 police log. Prosecutors decided to enter “nolle prosequi” on Sept. 3, dropping the charges against Burke while retaining the ability to charge him on the same charges in the future.
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Sorry but dont see Parker Street as near the Harvard Quad. I played on Parker Street as a kid ( wonderfully diverse familles then ). I also played at the Quad. Not that close. Also, these fake guns are absolutely terrifying as is Fentanyl. Great busts.
Another great job by the Cambridge police. Thank you very much.
…client list???