Press Releases
LOCAL MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL FIREARMS CHARGES FOR MAKING “STRAW PURCHASE”
March 3, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOSEPH SCHWARTZ, age 31, a resident of Marrero, Louisiana, pled guilty to a one-count indictment previously returned by a Federal Grand Jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, on January 8, 2008, after receiving information from an employee at a gun store, ATF agents set up surveillance and observed JOSEPH SCHWARTZ exit the gun store carrying a rifle and then place the rifle on the front seat of his vehicle. Further investigation revealed that SCHWARTZ was convicted for illegal use of a firearm felon in Jefferson Parish on February 11, 2004, and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. ATF Agents then approached SCHWARTZ and placed him under arrest.
SCHWARTZ faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years, a fine of $250,000.00 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of the Department of Justice Violent Crime Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian J. Capitelli.
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