The grandson of former Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro is facing federal drug and gun charges after his arrest Tuesday morning -- while in state court on separate attempted murder charges.
A three-count indictment charges Steven Molinaro with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, attempted obstruction of justice and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Molinaro pled not guilty and agreed to a temporary detention order, pending a hearing next month. Federal prosecutors are seeking his detention, citing his alleged dangerousness and purported access to significant sums of money from the drug trade. In support of their application, prosecutors included in their detention memo a photo of Molinaro, taken from his Instagram page, in which he appears to be posing on a private plane while talking on the phone and holding some sort of smokeable object.
The Staten Island Advance previously reported that Molinaro, 33, was facing attempted murder charges in the shooting of his sometimes-girlfriend in April. He has multiple past convictions on assault and drug charges.
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His grandfather James, a fixture in Staten Island politics for decades, was borough president for 12 years, leaving office at the end of 2013.
