Ex-Lynn man gets 10 years for selling guns

LYNN-A former Lynn man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for purchasing a small arsenal of weapons in northern New England and re-selling them on urban streets, authorities said.Michael Fowler, 37, formerly of 62 Nahant St., Lynn, was sentenced Jan. 3 in U.S. District Court in Boston.Fowler has twice been convicted of trafficking firearms on previous cases, authorities said.Fowler bought 24 guns legally from weapons retailers in New Hampshire and Maine before he allegedly re-sold them illegally in Massachusetts communities. Those weapons included 10 Glocks and three Beretta semi-automatic pistols.Authorities said that once Fowler purchased the weapons, he brought them back to Massachusetts where he obliterated the serial numbers and re-sold them for approximately $200 profit for each gun. At least nine of those weapons were recovered from city streets.Federal agents executed a search warrant at Fowler’s former home in Lynn and discovered over 4,000 rounds of ammunition, along with silencers and silencer parts, tools for grinding and sanding metal, firearm serial number plates and manuals for building gun silencers, authorities said.Multiple agencies participated in the investigation, including the Lynn Police Department, ATF, Boston Police Department, Lawrence Police Department, Office of the Inspector General, State Police and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.Assistant U.S. Attorney William Connolly prosecuted Fowler.