Crime & Safety

It's 204 Months in Federal Prison for Former Waterford Man

Mark Missino also faces up to 40 years in state prison for allegedly stealing firearms, jewelry and other items during a home burglary spree.

A convicted felon who was allegedly behind a spree of home burglaries that plagued coastal Connecticut for two years has been sentenced to 204 months of prison.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Mark Missino, 46, formerly of Waterford, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport for stealing and possessing numerous firearms. His prison time will be followed by five years of supervised release. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2010, Missino and Bernard McAllister possessed 19 firearms that they had stolen during a string of residential burglaries that took place between 2008 and 2010. 

The firearms were discovered in an East Lyme storage locker with more than 8,000 other items believed to have been taken during the burglaries, with a value of approximately $1 million. 

Prior to November 2010, Missino had been convicted of multiple felony offenses in Connecticut and Florida, including convictions for larceny, burglary, robbery, grand theft and escape. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

McAllister and Missino, also known as “Mark Houston” and “Mark Serano,” have been detained since Nov. 18, 2010, when they were arrested in Massachusetts. 

On Jan. 30, 2014, Missino pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon. McAllister pleaded guilty to the same charge on June 6, 2013.

Missino and McAllister also pleaded guilty in state court to several charges related to the series of residential burglaries.

Judge Underhill recommended that Missino’s 204-month federal sentence run concurrently with his state sentence. 

Missino is scheduled to be sentenced in state court on April 30, at which time he is expected to receive a sentence of 40 years, execution suspended after 25 years.

On March 21, 2014, McAllister was sentenced in federal court to 108 months of imprisonment, concurrently with a state sentence of 25 years, execution suspended after 16 years.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Connecticut State Police, the Massachusetts State Police, and the East Lyme, Greenwich, Madison, Guilford, Glastonbury, North Branford and Wallingford Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Spector.

East Lyme Det. Donald Marr and Officer Mark Comeau were recognized as New London Elks' Club's Officers of the Year in 2011 for the intensive investigation they conducted to crack what the East Lyme Police Department considers to be one of the biggest burglary cases in its history.  


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