Bloomberg announces new series of lawsuits
MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES THE FILING OF SECOND FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST IRRESPONSIBLE GUN DEALERS
12 Gun Dealers in Five States Are Named in Second Federal Lawsuit Following Sting Operation
Six of the 15 Gun Dealers Named in the First Lawsuit Have Reached Settlements with the City; Court Appointed Special Master is Named for Three of the Six Gun Dealers
City Launches Subway Ads Warning of New Mandatory Minimum Sentencing for Illegal Possession of a Loaded Handgun Passed Earlier This Year
I wonder if Bloomberg’s investigators broke the law again this time by lying on federal paperwork? More:
Earlier this year, investigators from the James Mintz Group, a private investigative firm employed by the City, traveled to five states to establish whether these gun dealers were violating federal laws governing firearms sales. The investigators, in teams of two, entered gun stores and followed a scenario commonly known as “straw purchasing” – where one individual makes all of the inquiries into purchasing the gun, and then the other individual, completely uninvolved in the sale process, fills out the required federal forms to pass the background check. Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling firearms to individuals when they have a reasonable belief that the firearm being sold is not for the person who purports to be the purchaser.
All 12 dealers named in the suit sold a gun to a team of undercover investigators, who wore hidden cameras during their sting operations. Even in the face of obvious “red lights” that should have immediately ended the discussion between dealer and customer, including that the straw purchaser did not participate in the transaction until the time came to fill out the federal forms and did not pay for the gun.
Actually, the form 4473 that you fill out when purchasing a firearm asks if you’re the purchaser. The law-breaking done here was by the investigators.
Update: Jeff asks:
When is the Mayor and his undercover team going to be arrested and thrown in jail by the BATF?
Uh, never. It’s OK to break the law if you’re rich and in politics. Will not happen.
December 8th, 2006 at 11:39 am
Great, the mind police will get inside your head as the song goes.
How does this solve the problem that Bloomberg is obsessed with? These “investigators” should be tried for fraud.
December 8th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Agreed.
All they’re trying to do is drive the gun shops out of business. Any fool can see there were no laws broken by the seller.
Not sure there were any laws broken by the buyers, either, unless the one that filled out the paperwork lied on the forms.