Crime – Page 25 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Details on the Colosimo Case

Before we were largely speculating. Â Now we actually have some facts in the case. It seems Colosimo entered into a plea deal with prosecutors. Â We also have this:

The government’s plea memorandum said that on Aug. 4, 2004, a straw purchaser identified only as “Person #1” received money from “H.B.” and a male known as “Shiz” to purchase four firearms on their behalf at Colosimo’s.

H.B. accompanied Person #1 into Colosimo’s and provided money to Person #1 in the presence of a store employee, who recorded that the purchase had been made by Person #1.

None of the four firearms has been recovered. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tomika Stevens told Savage that prosecutors did not know if the firearms had been used in any crimes.

After that purchase, ATF agents set up controlled buys using informants for the purchases of six firearms between Dec. 8, 2005, and April 18, 2007, the plea memo said.

Those guns were turned over to ATF agents immediately after the purchases, which were set up and monitored by the ATF, court documents said.

On one occasion a cooperating witness, A.P., identified himself as the buyer, but Person #2, the straw purchaser, filled out the paperwork, identifying himself as the buyer. A Colosimo’s employee recorded the transaction in the straw purchaser’s name.

On another occasion, a government informant and Person #3 entered Colosimo’s together. Court papers said that the informant had told a Colosimo’s employee that Person #3, the straw purchaser, was buying a handgun for the informant because the informant could not buy a gun. The Colosimo’s employee recorded the purchase in Person #3’s name, court papers said.

Now those are better facts, but they raise some questions:

The person who recorded the straw transaction committed a federal crime. Was he or she prosecuted?
If ATF was conducting these stings since 2005, why was Colosimo’s allowed to remain operating for four more years, despite ATF having evidence that his employees were allowing straw buys?

What’s described here is most definitely a crime committed on the part of the dealer’s agent. At best, he’s not training his employees correctly, and at worst not being careful about hiring scrupulous employees. I’m sorry I ever stood up for this guy. This looks like strong evidence, and I suspect the prosecution is actually going rather easy on the defendant in this case.

Colosimo Inc. Pleads Guilty

James Colosimo admits in federal court that illegal activity went on in his shop. His FFL has been revoked, and he is selling his inventory to other dealers. His shop will close.

Good riddance, I say. If the charges were true, we don’t need dealers who break the law. If the charges were false, we don’t need dealers who won’t stand up for what’s right.

Not Just Good Advice for Kids

Don’t talk to strangers. I don’t answer my door for anyone I’m not expecting. It’s not really a safety thing so much as someone showing up at my door unexpectedly usually isn’t someone I want to talk to.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

From an AP story on the shooting of four SWAT officers:

A gunman opened fire early Thursday on a SWAT team that burst into a home during a drug and gun raid, wounding four officers while spraying bullets from atop a staircase, authorities said. One officer was critically wounded.

Contrasted with:

He was charged with four counts of attempted murder, as well illegal weapons possession and receiving stolen property. The .357 Magnum used to shoot the officers was reported stolen from South Carolina, Ford said.

Now, I suppose it’s possible they got .357 Magnum confused with .357 SIG, but one wonders how a six shot revolver sprays bullets. I think getting it right is important here, because by reporting it incorrectly, the AP fails to convey just how dangerous this individual was. The story makes it seem like he was just shooting wildly and got lucky.

He shot four police officers, in full body armor, with guns drawn and ready, at night, with a six shot revolver. Â He seriously wounded one with a head shot, wounded another in the foot, and landed two chest shots which were stopped by the officers’ body armor.Â That, folks, is a dangerous individual who has some serious gunfighting skills. Given the kind of crap he was involved in, the officers involved deserve a lot of praise for getting this guy off the streets. He didn’t just land lucky shots spraying wildly. If this guy had confronted non-SWAT officers, he probably would have killed somebody. Â The most seriously wounded officer, the one shot in the head, seems to be doing fine, and is expected to recover, though he may lose an eye due to the path of the bullet.

Colosimo’s Closing Up Shop

His attorney says he’s going to close. ATF is planning to revoke his FFL, and he does not plan to contest it. He’s still apparently debating whether he’s going to fight the criminal charge against his corporation.

Federal authorities began investigating Colosimo’s after the protests, and the ATF since has filed a notice to revoke his federal license to sell firearms, said Colosimo’s attorney, Joe Canuso.

So ATF didn’t inspect this guy until after the protests? That must be how he kept the FFL for so long. If ATF is doing a retrospective paperwork inspection, how are they determining that the sale was to a straw buyer, and that it was willful? It would be one thing if they conducted a sting, but if ATF is just now looking through his paperwork, how is intent being determined? Is it similar to ATFs traditional approach, which is if it was an error in paperwork, it clearly had to have been willful? How often does ATF find paperwork problems at other FFLs it inspects that don’t end up facing charges? These aren’t just semantics. The section of the United States Code the corporation is charged under is Title 18, Chapter 44, 922(m):

It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector knowingly to make any false entry in, to fail to make appropriate entry in, or to fail to properly maintain, any record which he is required to keep pursuant to sectionÂ 923 of this chapter or regulations promulgated thereunder.

The statute requires intention to violate, so the United States would need to have evidence that that there was intent to commit a violation. What’s the evidence of that? These are questions that deserve an answer, but we will never find out of Mr. Colosimo doesn’t contest the charges against his company. If the charges are true, fine, plead guilty, by all means. But if they are false, the federal government should be forced to meet its burden before a judge and jury.

Prosecution by Information

The US Attorneys have released the information associated with the prosecution of Colosimo’s gun shop. Â They have also issued a press release as well. What strikes me is the complaint against them doesn’t really offer any evidence that his paperwork was a willful violation, it just states that is the case. Paperwork errors are not that uncommon in a high volume gun business. Few FFLs can get everything right 100% of the time. The question still remains why ATF allowed him to keep operating all these years if he was engaging in willful violations of the condition of his license. When was the last time ATF inspected the records of Colosimos? Â What violations were found? These are key questions in this case, that I think the public ought to know.

But the fact is, if this is a deal where Colosimo’s Inc. is going to plead guilty, the District Attorney doesn’t need to bring forth detailed evidence, since the defendant will admit he is guilty . He will not force the state to meet its burden, and so it won’t bother.

I can’t say I would entirely blame James Colosimo, at age 77, if he agreed to plead guilty rather than risk financial and personal ruin trying to fight charges in front of a jury. But it should be understood that by admitting to such actions, he will not get to enter retirement with his dignity, and in the right. He will have admitted his shop was engaged in criminal activity, and that’s not something I’m going to support. Everything the anti-gun folks have said about Colosimo’s will have be admitted to as true. Whether that’s just a matter of legal fact, rather than actual fact, I don’t think is important. Colosimos will be a criminal gun shop, and that’s how it will be remembered. James Colosimo might get to retire in peace, but that will be little comfort for the next gun shop that ends up in the crosshairs.

This is one of those businesses, when you get too tired to cross every ‘t’ and dot every ‘i’, and even more importantly, when you lose interest in standing up for what’s right, it’s time to give up the FFL, close up shop, and get out of the business.

Heeding God’s Call Feeling Vindicated

One of the members of the group that protested outside of Colosimo’s is feeling vindicated with the arrival of federal charges:

Little did we know that while we were meeting the U.S. Attorney’s office was charging Mr. Colism with falsifying statements and failing to keep accurate records. On a practical level, it appears that our activities may have called attention to this particularly notorious gun dealer, and moved the process along in bringing him to justice. On another level, today feels like a vindication of our efforts, and an affirmation that God is indeed working in and through our efforts.

Is he being brought to justice though? I’ll one up you, Professor. I’m going to suggest the US Attorney is going easy on this guy rather than throwing the book at him. I would like to understand why. The accusation is that he knowingly sold a firearm to a person he knew not to be the actual buyer of the firearm, and that those firearms were later recovered from criminals. In the reports, he’s accused of doing this not once, but ten times over the course of five years. Yet the US Attorney’s office isn’t pressing charges against Mr. Colosimo himself, but rather against Colosimo, Inc, the corporate entity. This basically puts the maximum penalty at a fine and probation for the corporation, which means a judge gets to oversee the operation of the corporate entity. Â There’s no jail time involved. I would argue that if Mr. Colosimo knowingly sold firearms to straw purchasers, he ought to be facing charges himself.

The US Attorneys office seems to be proceeding with a Prosecution by Information, which means that Colosimo’s has waived its right to have the evidence in the case presented to a Grand Jury. Usually a defendant will not do this unless they intend to plead guilty to the charge. This leads me to believe the US Attorney likely cut a deal with Colosimo, either because they didn’t see any use in prosecuting an old man, or because they weren’t confident in taking a case forward against Colosimo himself, and cut a deal where the corporate entity agreed to plead guilty.

But I don’t just meant to question the US Attorney’s office over why they are going after the company and not the man, I also think the ATF needs to explain, if the US Attorney has had evidence that Colosimos was knowingly selling to straw buyers, why it allowed Colosimos to continue operating? I would assume ATF has inspected this dealer in the past? What did they find? If it warranted charges, why was his FFL not revoked?

Lots of questions still in this case. Hopefully we’ll get answers as more information comes to light.

Colosimo Facing Gun Charges

Looks like the U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia is bringing charges against James Colosimo of Colosimo’s gun shop. According to another source, the charge is related to false statements and bad record keeping:

Patty Hartman with the US attorney’s office says that Colosimo’s, the well-known Philadelphia gun dealership, is being charged with knowingly selling guns to people who would not be the actual gun owners:

“The information alleges that there were 10 firearms that were “straw purchased” from Colosimo’s Inc. from on or about August 4th, 2004, through on or about April 18th, 2007.”

We’ve previously been supportive of Colosimo’s when they were targeted by overzealous activists, but a US Attorney is a different matter. Â If they are indeed guilty of what is alleged here, I have no problem with harsh punishment, but it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether the prosecution has enough evidence for this to proceed to a trial.

UPDATE: Maybe not:

Jim Colosimo, the owner of Colosimo’s Gun Center on Spring Garden Street near Ninth Street, was not personally charged. He could not be reached for comment last night.

The charges against the business were contained in a criminal information, which means the defendant waived the right to have the case heard before a grand jury. A criminal information can mean the defendant will plead guilty, though that is not always the case.

The information charges the gun dealership with making false entries in gun-sales records by listing three buyers as the firearms purchasers “when the defendant knew or had reason to believe that each person was not the actual buyer, but was a straw purchaser.”

That seems to be really unusual to me. Why didn’t ATF pull his FFL if they were aware of this? Plus, they are charging the corporation rather than Colosimo himself, even though the law allows for him to be prosecuted personally? If he’s selling guns to criminals, knowingly, and it can be proved, shouldn’t the US attorney want to put Colosimo in federal prison? It seems to me that would be appropriate. Why charge the company? I will definitely keep abreast of developments in this case.

Who’s Providing Guns to the Manatees?

Turns out they are stolen, but naturally the Bradenton Herald thinks that’s a reason for more gun control.

Community Service for Virginia Gun Show ND

It looks like the gents who fired off a mistakenly loaded rifle at a gun show in Virginia a while back have been sentenced to 40 hours of community service, after being charged with obstruction of justice and recklessly handling a firearm. Â Given that, and this incident here, it’s probably best to follow this guy’s advice here, and not talk to the police if you have an ND in Virginia. Â Especially in a case like this, where the dealer negligently brought a loaded rifle on to the show floor.