Mass. medical board suspends doctor's license after cache of weapons found

BOSTON — In an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Massachusetts Board of Medicine suspended a local doctor's license after a large cache of weapons was allegedly found inside his home and car.

Dr. Matthew J. Bonanno, 47, a plastic surgeon based in New York, was first licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts in March 2019.

The board found Bonanno poses a serious and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare after he was arrested on August 12 in Tuckahoe, N.Y., for possession of a semi-automatic firearm.

After searching his car, police found five assault rifles fully loaded with high-capacity magazines, 1,600 rounds of ammunition, three handguns, 29 high capacity loaded magazines and heavy ballistic body armor, according to a Tuckahoe police statement.

A subsequent search of Bonanno's Great Neck, N.Y., home led police to another large cache of weapons, the statement said, including assault rifles, handguns, high-capacity magazines and shotguns.

Bonanno was arraigned in Tuckahoe Village Court on several counts of criminal possession of weapons charges. He can request a hearing at the Division of Administrative Law Appeals within seven days.

The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine licenses more than 40,000 physicians, osteopaths and acupuncturists in the state and is responsible for investigating complaints and protecting the public's health.

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