ATF investigating NYC mayor Bloomberg's sting operations
Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:05 am
I don't think they were "questionable" at all: they were flatly illegal.
http://bob.wjla.com/headlines/0207/395792.html
NYC Gun Stings Questionable, Feds Say
UPDATED - Friday February 09, 2007 12:38am
NEW YORK (AP) - Private investigators hired by the city to conduct sting operations on out-of-state gun shops could be breaking the law, and the dealers they caught making illegal sales will not be prosecuted, federal officials said Thursday. City officials have sued more than two dozen dealers after hiring investigators to pose as buyers attempting straw purchases, in which one person fills out the paperwork for the gun but is buying for someone else. The scam is often used by convicted felons and others barred from owning firearms.
The city argues that the shops - in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia - are responsible for many of the illegal weapons that end up in New York, and the suits have led seven dealers to agree to more scrutiny.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced in May it was reviewing whether the city acted legally.
"Potential legal liabilities" arise when civilians do the work of law enforcers, Department of Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra said Thursday. The department has decided charges are not warranted against dealers in the sting cases, he said.
It was unclear whether the private investigators could face charges.
Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler dismissed the department's suggestion that investigators could be breaking the law.
"When illegal guns are sold in our city, that's putting people at great physical risk, and that's more important," he said Thursday. "The city has followed the law, and there's no reason we shouldn't continue to do these operations."
Some of the gun sellers have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuits, saying the city is out of bounds because the dealers are not doing business in New York.
Gun rights advocates have criticized the sting operations, and the Second Amendment Foundation issued a statement Thursday calling the Department of Justice's findings a "significant victory."
http://bob.wjla.com/headlines/0207/395792.html
NYC Gun Stings Questionable, Feds Say
UPDATED - Friday February 09, 2007 12:38am
NEW YORK (AP) - Private investigators hired by the city to conduct sting operations on out-of-state gun shops could be breaking the law, and the dealers they caught making illegal sales will not be prosecuted, federal officials said Thursday. City officials have sued more than two dozen dealers after hiring investigators to pose as buyers attempting straw purchases, in which one person fills out the paperwork for the gun but is buying for someone else. The scam is often used by convicted felons and others barred from owning firearms.
The city argues that the shops - in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia - are responsible for many of the illegal weapons that end up in New York, and the suits have led seven dealers to agree to more scrutiny.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced in May it was reviewing whether the city acted legally.
"Potential legal liabilities" arise when civilians do the work of law enforcers, Department of Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra said Thursday. The department has decided charges are not warranted against dealers in the sting cases, he said.
It was unclear whether the private investigators could face charges.
Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler dismissed the department's suggestion that investigators could be breaking the law.
"When illegal guns are sold in our city, that's putting people at great physical risk, and that's more important," he said Thursday. "The city has followed the law, and there's no reason we shouldn't continue to do these operations."
Some of the gun sellers have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuits, saying the city is out of bounds because the dealers are not doing business in New York.
Gun rights advocates have criticized the sting operations, and the Second Amendment Foundation issued a statement Thursday calling the Department of Justice's findings a "significant victory."