Barry Donadio's Family Shotgun Home After 90 Years

             Prospero Donadio in front of his gun shop at 11 Skillman Ave. Brooklyn NY prior to 1938


About 10 years back, Mr. Ray Schnell of Upland, California bought an old .410 caliber shotgun from a a man named Bill Bhornamanat at a private sale in California.

Mr. Bhornamanat stated that he bought the shotgun in the early 1990's from an old Italian couple that moved to California from Long Island, New York years ago.

When Mr. Schnell bought the shotgun, he did not realize how truly rare it was. He was only looking to have something to go shooting with. He was intrigued by the craftsmanship and age of the shotgun. He eagerly purchased it for $150.

With a busy life and high work demands, Ray never had the time to go shooting, so the shotgun stayed in his closet for years. Knowing the the old shotgun needed to be cleaned and oiled, Ray brought the shotgun out of the closet for the first time in a while and began to disassemble it for cleaning. Low and behold, under the front forearm wood was an engraving that read "Prospero Donadio New York, New York"

The curiosity began to take hold of Ray as he started his search into Prospero Donadio and the origin of the shotgun. His first idea was to take it to a local gunshot and have it appraised. The shotgun appraised for $500, but they could not tell Ray anything about the shotgun other than it had Belgian proof marks. He first thought this was very odd. He thought this could have been the privately owned shotgun of Prospero Donadio and that it may have been bought in Belgium.

Time went by, but the curiosity still stuck with Ray. For some reason, he just had to know what this shotgun was all about. He then began an exhaustive search on the internet. He learned that there was actually a gun shop in Brooklyn, New York that was owned by a Prospero Donadio. At first light, Ray thought this was very interesting and wanted to know more. Ray began looking more into Prospero Donadio. Finally he came across a post mortem LinkedIn page for Prospero Donadio and his gun shop. Prospero's LinkedIn page was created by his Great Grand son Barry Donadio.

Ray immediately contacted Barry Donadio to learn more about the shotgun. According to Barry, his Great Grandfather owned a gun shop at 11 Skillman Avenue in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York from 1916 to about 1938. The Brooklyn Queens Expressway was built and the shop was destroyed to make way for the new highway. Prospero then moved the gun shop to 378 Grand Avenue, Brooklyn. It was just West of the new highway and only a few hundred yards for the 11 Skillman Avenue shop.

Prospero operated his shop from there until December 7th 1941. That was the day he died in the shop. It was Pearl Harbor day. He never new of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor because it took a day for the news to arrive to the mainland on the United States.

Ironically, December 7th is Ray Schnell's birthday. He turned 2 years old on the day Prospero died.

Prospero had an interesting life. He was also an inventor. He held at least 3 patents regarding pistol operation and a 1917 patent for revolver safety's. Barry thinks Prospero's gun shop may have started as far back as 1915 in Manhattan, but he has not been able to prove it yet.

Barry Donadio explained that it is the understand of his family that Prospero had a line of high quality shotguns made in Belgium. They were made for him to sell in his gun shop in New York.

It is not known for sure if Prospero engraved the guns with his name or the manufacturer in Belgium. It is quite possible that Prospero did it himself to personalize the guns coming from his shop. In either case, it would make the shotguns sold in his shop very rare. Just how rare are they? A .32 gauge shotgun from Propero's shop went to auction in 2013 at a starting bid of $5,750. The reputable James D. Julia auctioneer company held the auction. Barry stated that he has seen these shotguns sell for a higher price.

Barry estimates that at the most, approximately 200 shotguns may have been made that are actually marked with "Prospero Donadio" name on them. He also estimates that probably only about 50 of these shotguns exist today. Out of those 50 existing shotguns, about 25 of the owners may not even be aware it is a "Prospero Donadio" shotgun unless they took apart the shotgun for cleaning by removing the front wood forearm grips. Barry Donadio stated; " It is only a guess in regards to how many of these shotguns are in existence. The numbers can be far lower than even what I have concluded."

The shotgun that Barry Donadio obtained from Ray Schnell is only about the 6th "Prospero Donadio" shotgun to surface publicly in the world. Barry believes that there are an additional 4 more "Prospero Donadio" shotguns owned by other Prosepero Donadio descendants, but they are not talking. "The shotguns are a very secretive possession by Prospero Donadio's descendants. We know some descendants have other shotgun guns, but no family member knows exactly who possesses them in the family and no one talks about it or admits they have one." Donadio said.

Barry Donadio went on to praise Ray Schnell for his genorosity. Donadio said; "Ray sold me the shotgun for far less then what it is worth only to make sure it goes back to a Donadio." I really appreciate his empathy, his passion for history and his gentlemanly gesture of kindness." My family is forever grateful to Mr. Schnell for contacting us and making sure this shotgun came home to a Donadio after 90 years."

Donadio spoke of his Great Grandfather stating that he was a brilliant man that slipped through the cracks of history. He was never truly recognized for all the lives he may have potentially saved by making a patent in 1916 for a revolver safety. Prospero's revolver safety was used on Iver Johnson manufactured revolvers, Meridian Firearms revolvers and Howard Arms revolvers as early as 1917. The safety levers on these revolvers are stamped "May 11 1917". If you have a revolver with this stamped date on it, Prospero Donadio's safety latch patent is applied to that revolver. This makes the revolver a little bit more historic.

Barry Donadio stated that one day he would like to go back to the same Brooklyn neighborhood to manufacture and sell "Donadio" shotguns. Donadio said "It would be good for New York and it would be good for Brooklyn to have their own organically made specialty shotguns of such fine quality. "

Barry Donadio's Firm Now A Private Detective Agency In Washington D.C.

The continually growing private security company "Public Security LLC" obtained a Private Detective Agency license in the District of Columbia.

On May 15th 2015 Public Security LLC was issued a Private Detective Agency license in the District of Columbia ‪#‎PDB24729‬. The license enables Public Security LLC to legally:

1. Detect, discover and or reveal crime and or criminals.

2. Secure information for evidence relating to crime or criminals.

3. Discovering or revealing the identity, whereabouts, character

or actions of any person(s) or thing(s)

Public Security LLC is one of our nations few publicly declared Private Intelligence Agencies. The firm also provides security, executive protection and private investigation services in the states of New York and Maryland. Public Security LLC is led by its President Barry Donadio whom is a Military Veteran and a former member of the U.S. Secret Service during the Bush and Obama administrations.

Barry Donadio Has His Own Executive Protection Firm "Public Security LLC"​

Barry Donadio has his very own private security company "Public Security LLC"

It is also a Private Detective agency and acts as his personal executive protection agency when needed by him or his clients.

Led by Barry Donadio, it is a premier private security and investigation company based on Kent Island in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. 

The company provides trustworthy armed and unarmed Private Security Guard patrols in the entire state of Maryland, District of Columbia and New York.

The Staff are very professional and not your usual security company. All are licensed and insured. Most are either off-duty or former Police Officers. Others are Military Veterans, Intelligence Professionals and Security Professionals.

The company maintains a staff of Attorneys and even a Physician who is a fully credentialed Private Detective with the company.

"Citizens see us out there protecting private property and our clients." said Barry Donadio.

"We are at the service of the community. Our Officers are devoted to a safe community and report criminal activity to local law enforcement authorities." "We do keep a vigilant eye on businesses and homes while we are on the road. We report crimes to the Police even if the business is not our paying client. This is because we have a duty to act in the best interest of the public safety and order."

Mr. Donadio also said; "My company is always there for those who need us" " We are sensitive to our clients needs and are an effective means to deter criminal activity."

Public Security LLC has proven themselves to be a seriously capable company.  In 2015, they proved armed security in the most violent locations of the Baltimore riots. They have provided executive protection to celerities and politicians in the area. Most recently, they successfully provided security for the 22,000 participant 10k bay bridge run.

Public Security LLC has taken interest and an empathetic stance towards local concerns. They have focused their customer services on community needs.One such venture that has never been done before was to have their staff trained to use Narcan. This is a drug that can be administered to persons who may have overdosed on opioids. The training was given in an effort to please public concerns regarding the heroine epidemic on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Public Security LLC will also seek training for its staff to identify animal abuse and neglect. Local citizens have raised concerns regarding the subject and Public Security LLC will do its part in pleasing the public. Public Security LLC Officers are armed in order to protect their clients and their assets. Vehicles are fitted with dashboard camcorder and Officers have body camcorders.When criminal activity begins the videos begin recording. Then videos are then taken to the State's Attorney for criminal prosecution.

Public Security LLC has taken an active interest in supporting Police, Fire and EMS First Responders. Whether it is social media, political or moral support, the company backs, respects and values our local First Responder Heroes.

Public Security LLC also trains citizens with firearms and they can provide the classes required for obtaining handgun qualification licenses (HQL).

The company maintains a sub-station at 203 Romancoke Road, Suite 90, Stevensville, Maryland 21666 (Kent Island). Clients can visit by first making an appointment.

855-589-2267 Public Security LLC

www.ssecurityy.com

Barry Donadio Appointed Sergeant At Arms Of Maryland's Republican Party

In January 2017, Barry Donadio was appointed as the Sergeant at Arms of the Maryland Republican Party.

The Honorable Dirk Haire, who is the newly elected Chair of the Maryland Republican Party and campaign counsel to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed Barry Donadio.

Mr. Donadio will serve a 2 year term as Sergeant at Arms and be responsible for maintaining order during MDGOP conventions. Barry Donadio was already handling protective security details for Republican Party through his firm Public Security LLC.

When the MDGOP needed executive protection for their guest Alevda King, they called on Barry Donadio and the Private Detectives from his firm to carry out the task. Alveda King is a Republican, American Activist, Author and former State Representative for the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. She is also the niece of Martin Luther King. 

In 2014, Mr. Donadio was elected to the Queen Anne's County Republican Republican Central Committee in Maryland and is currently serving a four year term.

Since then, he endorsed Conservative Republicans like Nicolee Ambrose (The RNC Committeewoman for Maryland. On April 27th 2016, Barry Donadio also publicly endorsed David Bossie for RNC Maryland National Committeeman. In September 2016, Mr. Bossie was subsequently appointed as a Deputy Campaign Manager by United States President Donald J. Trump.

Barry Donadio stated " I would like to personally thank MDGOP Chairman Dirk Haire for appointing me as Sergeant at Arms for the MDGOP. Like Chairman Haire, I take my position with the MDGOP seriously. I will serve the Republican Party with professionalism, fairness and impartiality regarding my protective duties. "

Mr. Donadio also stated "When I was appointed as Sergeant at Arms, I inherited over 200 protectees consisting of the appointed and elected officers of the Maryland Republican Party. These protectees consist of all the members of the Republican Central Committees from each county in Maryland. Included in that group are also Republican Candidates for office and visiting dignitaries. It is a great honor for me to serve them all. As Sergeant at Arms of the MDGOP, I will be always be available to my protectees even when the convention is not in session. When needed, I will oversee other tasks for the MDGOP such as: executive protection, security, Police liaison duties, impartial political negotiator, and be a dispute resolution mediator for opponent political candidates."

Barry Donadio is a former member of the U.S. Secret Service that served at the White House during the Bush and Obama administrations. He is also a Military War Veteran that served in multiple Middle Eastern war zones during his career.