A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to eight months in prison after being convicted of several charges including unlawfully operating a helicopter without a license.
Antonio Santonastaso, 62, of East Brookfield received the sentence along with a year of supervised release by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy Hillman following his conviction by a federal jury on one count of serving as an airman without an airman certificate, one count of making false statements to federal agents and one count of attempted witness tampering.
Santonastaso’s pilot’s license was revoked by the FAA in 2000 after he participated in the theft of a helicopter from Norwood Memorial Airport. Despite that, Santonastaso was determined to have operated a Robinson R22 helicopter from his backyard more than 50 times over seven months in 2018.
When he was questioned by the FAA over the situation, Santonastaso made false statements regarding his eligibility to pilot the helicopter, claiming the events that led the agency to revoke his license were a fabrication. During his trial, evidence showed that Santonastaso also attempted to corruptly persuade an individual from reporting his illegal helicopter flights to law enforcement.