Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 30, 1992 TAG: 9203300115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Robert Luongo, a representative of the pistol's owner, said he meant no harm and considered the unloaded gun, bought at an auction, to be more a piece of history than a weapon. Luongo said he is terrified that the weapon might meet the fate of other firearms seized in the District - destruction. A judge will have to decide whether usual policy will be followed, police said Sunday.
The Saturday afternoon incident has flushed out the owner of the gun, who had gone to great lengths to maintain his anonymity. Local lawyer Allen Dale said he was retained Sunday by the gun's owner, Anthony Pugliese of Florida, to try to get it back.
Luongo was in town to appear with the gun on the Larry King Live television show Friday and ended up in jail overnight when his enthusiasm for showing it off attracted the attention of police.
Luongo, 37, of Ocean Ridge, Fla., said upon his release from jail Sunday that his ordeal began as "a simple naive scenario." He said that he decided to sightsee for a few hours before catching a flight home, and was simply unaware that the District of Columbia's stringent gun laws require carrying permits even for historic, unloaded guns.
He complained bitterly that police knew he had the battered .38-caliber Colt Cobra packed in a locked case for nearly 30 minutes before his arrest.
While strolling on the Capitol grounds, he met a young police officer and began talking about the mysterious twists and turns of the Kennedy assassination.
Police and Luongo differ on whether Foley was directly approached.
Capitol police spokesman Dan Nichols said Luongo was standing on the Capitol's east plaza about 2 p.m. when Foley, D-Wash., entered the building. The officer pointed out Foley as House speaker, at which point Luongo reportedly said, "I bet he'd like to see the gun I have in my case." Nichols said the comment "concerned the officer greatly. That's when the officer asked if he could look into the bag and see the weapon."
Nichols said Luongo immediately was arrested, before he had a chance to talk to Foley.
Luongo maintains that the reference to the Ruby gun came and went in a sentence, and the conversation meandered on for several minutes until Foley arrived.
Foley was unavailable for comment.
Luongo was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a misdemeanor under District law. He posted bond Sunday and is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.
Luongo said he was working with the owner of the gun to help fight what he characterized as "the second victimization" of Jack Ruby. Luongo and Ruby's younger brother, Earl, appeared on the Larry King show to denounce the new movie "Ruby," which portrays Ruby as a pawn in a mob-inspired assassination conspiracy.
The gun was auctioned off in New York last December and sold to a gun collector for $220,000. At the time of his arrest, Luongo told police he was carrying the weapon back to its owner in Florida. He told The Post that Pugliese is a part-owner of the revolver and that it has been purchased by a consortium. Pugliese, a real estate developer, declined comment.
by CNB