A Hypoluxo man living under the name of the action hero from the Steven Seagal movie Above the Law learned this week that the movie title might not hold true for him in real life.

The man known as Nico Toscanni was arrested Monday after a postal inspector posing as a mailman delivered him a package containing the frame of a rare Czech-made fully automatic machine gun, court records state. Police in Prague had intercepted the package addressed to Toscanni last month and alerted U.S. authorities to its contents.

Toscanni faces felony charges of smuggling goods into the United States and unlawful possession of an unregistered machine gun.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Linnea Johnson ordered Wednesday that Toscanni be held without bail pending trial, observing that he “strangely” appeared to have a number of false identities.

Federal authorities still are unsure of Toscanni’s true identity. After initially identifying himself as Toscanni, he told federal agents that his real name is Ivan Skarita, according to court documents.

In a search of his apartment, authorities found an array of identification cards with different names on them, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell.

He had one card identifying him as Finnish journalist Eric Anderson, a California identification card with his name as John Smith and an international driving permit under the name Benny Anderson, Bell said.

He had what appeared to be a Florida concealed weapons permit under the name Yvan Skaritka and a U.S. passport under the name Toscani with one “n,” Bell said.

Toscanni said he had no idea who mailed him the gun part from the Czech Republic. He maintained he was looking up the phone number for the local Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office when agents showed up to his door, according to court documents.

He said he was allowed to pick his name when he came to the United States so he chose that of the stoic, unorthodox Chicago police officer Steven Seagal’s 1988 debut movie, court records indicate.

Toscanni told authorities that he used to work as an engineer at a gun manufacturing plant in Miami and that he’s a gun collector.

ATF agent Seth Berger testified Wednesday that what appears to be an illegally modified Uzi machine gun was found in Toscanni’s home along with four other guns. With the part he received in the mail, Toscanni had all the components to put together a CZ-25 machine gun — a firearm that’s made in the Czech Republic for the military, according to court records.

Local ATF agents said Wednesday this is the first time they’ve encountered the rare firearm. The gun’s street value is at least $1,500, court records state.

Jon Burstein can be reached at or 561-832-2895.