DOVER, Del. (AP) - A former state Senate candidate and local Republican Party official has begun serving a federal prison sentence for illegally dealing in firearms.
Matthew Opaliski was sentenced in July to one year and one day behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of dealing firearms without a license. Prosecutors dropped four other counts of unlawful dealing and transfer of firearms.
Court papers docketed late last week show that Opaliski reported to a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky, on Aug. 31.
Opaliski, a tea party supporter and gun rights activist who has testified in the legislature on firearms bills, had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Opaliski has run for state Senate three times and also served as a GOP district committee chairman in Sussex County.
