Plainview business owner possessed shotgun illegally, feds say

The owner of a Plainview chimney business who did jail time on an explosives conviction faces a weapons charge after federal agents raided his West Hills home and found a 12-gauge shotgun, authorities said.

Abraham Finkler, 38, was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, said a spokesman for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip. Finkler was released Friday on $250,000 bond following an appearance before Magistrate Judge Anne Shields, the spokesman said.

The Thursday raid of Finkler's home by special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security followed an investigation into "possible possession of firearms, explosives and other contraband at [the] residence," a federal complaint stated.

Agents found a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun during the raid, according to the complaint.

Finkler has multiple felony convictions in Nassau County including for third-degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm in 2001, according to the complaint. He also has a 2007 conviction for possession of explosives without a license. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation in that case, officials said.

Reached for comment Saturday, Finkler said: “I appreciate and respect the United States government and their ongoing efforts to ensure our safety."

Finkler’s Hauppauge-based attorney, Joseph Ferrante, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Finkler owns Lifetime Chimney Supply LLC, a manufacturer of stainless-steel chimney liners in Plainview.

Last year, Lifetime received tax breaks from Nassau County to expand in Plainview instead of New Jersey.

The company built a 22,000-square-foot warehouse next to its office and plant at 171 East Ames Court. The $2.7 million project was expected to add at least 12 people to the payroll of 44, records show.

Citing Lifetime’s rapid employment growth, the county’s Industrial Development Agency awarded the company a sales-tax exemption of up to $130,000 on the purchase of construction materials and a 15-year reduction in property taxes, among other incentives.

“I’m aware of the situation,” IDA chairman Richard Kessel said Tuesday, referring to Finkler’s arrest. “I’ve discussed this with our counsel. We plan to review the matter.”

Lifetime’s sales were expected to increase by $2 million annually because of its expansion, according to IDA records.

Finkler's conviction for illegally possessing explosives came after police found several hundred pounds of illegal fireworks crammed into the attic of his then-Syosset home in 2006, police said at the time.

Nassau police began investigating Finkler after receiving a tip he was selling fireworks at his home, officials said at the time.

When investigators raided the Syosset home, they found more than 200 pounds of fireworks and a cache of long-barrel firearms, police said. Investigators also found 10 pounds of marijuana, officials said. Finkler’s then-16-month-old child slept in a room near the fireworks and where the guns were stored, police said.

With Catherine Carrera and John Valenti