3 — Enforcement Information
The trace
information collected and analyzed in the annual Crime Gun Trace Reports
is used in Federal, State, and local investigations of the illegal diversion
of firearms, particularly involving felons, youth offenders, and juveniles.
During the period 1996-1998, approximately 60 percent of ATF’s
firearms trafficking investigations involved crime gun tracing and 68
percent involved State and local law enforcement agencies. 13
Recent
Investigations Involving Trafficked Firearms.
During the first 2 quarters of Fiscal Year 2000, ATF’s 23 Field
Divisions initiated 874 illegal firearms trafficking investigations,
involving 231 youth and juvenile firearms possessors, 161 youth and
juvenile firearms traffickers, 54 youth and juvenile straw purchasers,
and 11 youth and juvenile firearms burglars. Nearly 40 percent (348)
of these investigations have been forwarded by ATF agents to Federal,
State, and local prosecutors for prosecution. These 348 investigations
yielded a total of 460 defendants, including 205 illegal firearms possessors,
133 illegal firearms traffickers, 101 straw purchasers, 16 corrupt licensed
dealers, and 11 firearms burglars. ATF agents estimated that some 14,600
firearms were trafficked in these 874 firearms trafficking investigations.
Because 60 percent of the investigations are still in progress, it is
likely that the ATF agents will uncover higher numbers of trafficked
firearms as their investigations develop further. Based on previous
analysis, ATF has found that nearly a quarter of its trafficking investigations
involve convicted felons illegally buying, selling, or possessing firearms.
During the first 2 quarters of Fiscal Year 2000, ATF agents also initiated
242 investigations into prohibited persons in possession of firearms
(18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)).
The
Illegal Market in Firearms. Trace information and analysis
of cases are contributing to a more precise picture of the structure
of the illegal firearms market that supplies guns to criminals, unauthorized
juveniles, and other prohibited persons. This section describes aspects
of the illegal market illuminated by crime gun tracing and cases developed
as part of the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, the youth-focused
component of ATF’s firearms enforcement program.
Trafficking
and Illegal Diversion of Firearms. Virtually all crime guns
start off as legally owned firearms. For this reason, the term "firearms
trafficking,” in contrast to the common reference to drug trafficking,
refers to the illegal diversion of a legal product from lawful commerce
into unlawful commerce, often for profit. ATF also uses the term “diversion.”
A broader term than trafficking, diversion encompasses any movement
of firearms from the legal to illegal marketplace through an illegal
method or for an illegal purpose. For example, a criminal who steals
a firearm from a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) for his own personal
use is participating in the illegal diversion of firearms, but he is
not a trafficker. Thus, while the theft of firearms may involve a criminal
stealing one or more firearms for his own use, or may involve subsequent
trafficking, addressing stolen firearms is an important part of a firearms
trafficking strategy because theft constitutes one means of the illegal
supply of firearms.
Types
of Trafficking. Firearms trafficking includes:
• Trafficking in new firearms, interstate and intrastate, including
by federally licensed firearms dealers, large-scale straw purchasers
or straw purchasing rings, or small-scale straw purchasers from gun
stores, gun shows, or other premises;
• Trafficking in secondhand firearms, interstate and intrastate,
including by licensed firearms dealers, including pawnbrokers; large-scale
straw purchasers or straw purchasing rings; or small-scale straw purchasers,
unlicensed sellers, including at gun shows, flea markets, or through
newspaper ads, gun magazines, the Internet, and personal associations,
and bartering and trading within criminal networks; and
• Trafficking in new and secondhand stolen firearms, involving
guns stolen from federally licensed dealers, including pawnbrokers,
manufacturers, wholesalers, and importers, theft from common carriers,
home invasions, and vehicle theft.
Case Examples
Trafficking
in New and Secondhand Firearms by Corrupt Federal Firearms Licensee.
St. Louis, Missouri. ATF analyses of firearms trace data revealed
that hundreds of crime guns were traced to Marshal’s Gun Shop,
a Federal firearms licensee. From January 1988 through March 1999, approximately
611 crime guns were traced back to Marshal’s. Although some were
secondhand guns, most were new. They included Mossberg 12 gauge shotguns,
Davis Industries .380 and 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistols, Lorcin
Engineering .380 caliber semiautomatic pistols, Smith & Wesson .38
caliber revolvers, Ruger 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistols, Glock G.m.b.H.
.40 and .45 caliber semiautomatic pistols, Maverick Arms l2 gauge shotguns,
and North China Industries 7.62x39mm caliber rifles.
Many of
these guns were recovered from youth under the age of 24 and in different
States. Over 200 were sold through straw purchases to convicted felons,
gang members, youth, and juveniles. Several of the trafficked firearms
were subsequently recovered in a variety of crimes, including drug violations,
unlawful use of a weapon, homicides, robberies, and assaults. On August
5, 1999, the 69-year-old owner of the gun store pled guilty to violations
of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (m), knowingly making false entries in required
records, and was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’
supervised release. The two employees pled guilty to violations of 18
U.S.C. Sec. 922 (m) in Spring 1999 and were sentenced to 3 years’
supervised release.
Interstate
Trafficking by Large-Scale Straw Purchaser Buying from an Unlicensed
Gun Show Dealer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This investigation
began on May 8, 1998, as a result of a request by the Philadelphia School
Board Investigations Unit to trace two firearms recovered on school
grounds. In the early morning hours of December 14, 1997, Philadelphia
Police Officers arrested two 18-year-old males for discharging firearms
in the schoolyard of William Penn High School. Both firearms had the
serial numbers obliterated. The Philadelphia Police Firearms Identification
Unit was able to restore the serial numbers of the firearms. ATF then
initiated a trace of the firearms and determined that an individual
residing in Greensboro, North Carolina, purchased both firearms just
48 hours prior to their recovery. During the course of the investigation,
which involved both crime gun tracing and Project LEAD, ATF uncovered
a trafficking conspiracy. The individuals trafficked an estimated 50-70
firearms purchased from an unlicensed dealer at gun shows. In addition
to these recoveries, three additional firearms with obliterated serial
numbers purchased by the Philadelphia defendant were recovered by the
Philadelphia Police in firearms offenses. The defendants from whom the
firearms were recovered were ages 19, 24, and 25.
One additional
firearm was recovered by the New York City Police Department. By infiltrating
the organization, an undercover operative was able to purchase approximately
24 firearms from this organization. The type of firearms included: 15
Lorcin Engineering 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistols, three Intratec
9mm caliber semiautomatic pistols, one Glock G.m.b.H .357 SIG caliber
semiautomatic pistol, one Llama .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, one
Bryco Arms 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, one Hi-Point 9mm caliber
rifle, and two North China Industries 7.62x39mm caliber rifles. All
of the undercover purchases took place in Philadelphia. All but two
of the purchased firearms had serial numbers obliterated.
On March
2, 1999, a resident of West Philadelphia and the purchaser of the firearms
from Greensboro, North Carolina, were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury
in the Eastern District of Philadelphia for conspiring to engage in
the business of dealing in firearms without a license, aiding and abetting,
and receiving firearms while under indictment.
On March
10, 1999, the Philadelphia Firearms Trafficking Task Force arrested
them both for firearms violations. On April 23, 1999, the Philadelphia
defendant pled guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. Sec. 371), engaging in
the business of dealing firearms without a license (18 USC 922 (a)(1)(A)),
aiding and abetting (18 U.S.C. Sec. 2), and unlawful interstate shipment
of firearms (18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (n)). On September 24, 1999, he was
sentenced to 46 months’ incarceration, 3 years’ supervised
release, $500 fine, and 100 hours of community service. On July 28,
1999, the North Carolina defendant pled guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C.
Sec. 371), engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license
(18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (a)(1)(A)), and aiding and abetting (18 U.S.C. Sec.
2). He was sentenced on October 29, 1999, to 24 months’ imprisonment,
3 years’ supervised release, a $500 fine, and a $200 special assessment
fee.
In-State
Trafficking in New Firearms by Small-Scale Family Member Straw Purchaser
for Juvenile Gang Offenders. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Between
1997 and 1998, guns recovered in various crimes and police actions were
traced and entered into Project LEAD. The incidents included a search
warrant for drugs, a search warrant for a suspect in a shooting, and
recovery of a gun when a suspect pursued by police discarded the weapon.
In partnership with the Milwaukee Police Department, ATF reviewed the
Multiple Sales Database and found that these firearms were purchased
as part of multiple sales. ATF subsequently examined the business records
of the FFL where the guns were purchased. In February 1999, a 21-year-old
made a multiple purchase of three handguns from the FFL and ordered
four more handguns. After he took delivery of the four handguns, he
was interviewed. He admitted that he had solicited his uncle to straw
purchase handguns for himself and his cousin when they were underage.
The uncle had straw purchased 11 handguns for his nephews, both at the
time under the age of 21 and members of street gangs. The new firearms
included Keltec Industries Inc. 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistols, a
Heritage Manufacturing 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Tanfoglio
.45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Star .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol,
a Taurus .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Lorcin Engineering .380
caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Haskell .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol,
a Tanfoglio 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Tanfoglio .45 caliber
semiautomatic pistol, and a Bryco Arms 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol.
The cousin was a member of the Black Gangster Disciples and wanted firearms
to continue a “gang war” with members of the Vice Lords. The
cousin, while armed with one of the firearms acquired by his uncle,
was killed by members of the Vice Lords. The 21-year-old defendant pled
guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. Sec. 371) and to falsifying ATF Form
4473 (18 U.S.C. 922 (a)(6)) and cooperated with the Government. In September
1999, he was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’
supervised release. The uncle, who had no prior criminal record, was
found guilty of conspiracy (18 U.S.C. Sec. 371) and falsifying ATF Form
4473 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (a)(6)) for his straw purchase activities.
In October 1999, he was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment, 3
years’ supervised release, and fined $1,000.
Trafficking
in New and Secondhand Firearms by Unlicensed Seller and Convicted Felon
through Magazines and Gun Shows. Louisville, Kentucky. ATF regulatory
inspectors examined an FFL’s multiple sales and business records
and found that certain individuals had acquired 70 firearms in 2 years.
NCIC and Project LEAD searches showed that 11 of the 70 firearms had
been recovered by the Louisville Police Department or traced. These
firearms, some of which were recovered in the possession of youth, included
semiautomatic pistols such as the Raven Arms .25 caliber, the Ruger
9mm caliber, the Davis Industries .32 caliber, the Colt .380 caliber,
as well as .38 caliber revolvers made by Smith & Wesson.
In March
1997, ATF initiated a case against a convicted felon and another individual.
The investigation showed that they had purchased the new and secondhand
firearms from nearby FFLs and resold the firearms in-State and out-of-
State at gun shows and through a local trade publication, the “Bargain
Mart.” At times, the men placed up to 20 ads offering firearms
for sale every week. ATF agents executed two search warrants in June
1997 at the defendants’ residences and seized approximately 64
firearms.
One defendant
pled guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. Sec. 371), engaging in the business
of dealing in firearms without a license (18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (a)(1)(A)),
and sale of a firearm to a prohibited person (18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (d)).
In February 1999, he was sentenced to 6 months’ home incarceration
and 3 years’ probation. He received a downward departure of seven
levels in his sentence as a result of the cooperation he provided to
the Government. The second defendant pled guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C.
Sec. 371), engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a
license (18 U.S.C. 922 (a)(1) (A)), and felon in possession (922 (g)).
On August 28, 1998, he was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment
and 3 years’ supervised release.
In-State
and Interstate Trafficking in Firearms Stolen by Juvenile and Adult
from Residences. Cincinnati, Ohio. In November 1998, a juvenile
and an adult stole 15 firearms from a residence in Fairfield, Ohio.
With the help of three other juveniles, the firearms were sold to an
individual who was subsequently arrested for receiving stolen property.
This individual admitted selling at least 13 of the firearms to individuals
in Cincinnati and other areas of Ohio as well as West Virginia. Most
of the stolen firearms have been recovered and subsequently traced by
ATF. Further investigation conducted by the Fairfield, Ohio Police Department
and ATF revealed that the juveniles had been involved in many home burglaries,
some of which involved the theft of additional firearms. The stolen
firearms included: a North China Industries SKS 7.62x39mm caliber rifle,
a North China Industries MAK- 90 7.62x39mm caliber rifle, a Sears, Robuck
& Company, JC Higgins brandname .30-06 caliber rifle, a Remington
.35 caliber rifle, a Remington 16 gauge shotgun, a Mossberg .410 gauge
shotgun, a Savage/Stevens .22 caliber rifle, a Savage/ Stevens 16 gauge
shotgun, a WW II Japanese 7.7mm military rifle, an unidentified Marakov
type 9x18mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber
revolver, a Smith & Wesson .32 caliber revolver, a Taurus .357 caliber
revolver, a Ruger .22 caliber pistol, and a Harrington & Richardson,
Inc. .32 caliber revolver. The juveniles, as well as the adult who participated
in the theft of the 15 firearms, were all prosecuted in State Court.
In September 1999, the individual who trafficked the firearms to Ohio
and West Virginia pled guilty in Federal Court to a violation of 18
U.S.C. Sec. 922 (a)(5), illegal transportation of firearms. In January
2000, he was sentenced to 180 days’ home incarceration and 3 years’
probation.
Interstate
Bartering and Trading New and Secondhand Firearms Stolen from Federally
Licensed Firearms Dealer for Drugs. Cincinnati, Ohio. In
April 1999, Cincinnati police officers stopped a vehicle and arrested
four individuals from Kentucky and two Cincinnati residents. The four
individuals aged 16, 18, 21, and 27, were transporting 26 handguns.
The recovered firearms were run through NCIC records by Kentucky State
Police, which revealed these new and secondhand guns had been stolen
2 days earlier from a federally licensed gun dealer in Flemingsburg,
Kentucky. A 23-year-old co-conspirator was subsequently arrested and
it was learned that the individuals were transporting the guns from
Kentucky into Cincinnati, Ohio, for the purpose of trading them for
drugs. The handguns recovered in their vehicle were: an IMI .40 caliber
semiautomatic pistol, a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber semiautomatic
pistol, a Sig Sauer 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Smith &
Wesson 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber
semiautomatic pistol, an FEG .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Llama
9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Bersa .380 caliber semiautomatic
pistol, an Auto Ordnance .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger 9mm
caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Beretta .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol,
an FEG .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol, an Accu-Tek .380 caliber semiautomatic
pistol, a Charter Arms .22 caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson .38
caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver, a Taurus
.357 caliber revolver, a Rossi .38 caliber revolver, a Colt .357 caliber
revolver; a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver, an AMT .40 caliber
pistol, a Smith & Wesson 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Smith
& Wesson .357 caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber
revolver, and a Colt .44 Magnum caliber revolver. Three of the four
codefendants from Kentucky pled guilty to carrying concealed weapons
and possession of stolen property in the Court of Common Pleas, Cincinnati,
Hamilton County, Ohio. Their sentences ranged from 18 months to 7 years.
The 23-year-old coconspirator pled guilty in Federal Court to violations
of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (u), theft from an FFL, and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2,
aiding and abetting. He received 18 months’ incarceration.
13
Following the Gun: Enforcing Federal Laws Against Firearms Traffickers,
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,
June 2000.