How guns gets to street illegally, Mayors Against Illegal Guns take note

[LeavingMass]

source here

This is how guns gets on the street illegally, not through made up gun show loopholes as you mayors claim

FedEx employee charged with stealing 146 guns
by Jeff Whelan/The Star-Ledger

A FedEx cargo handler stole 146 handguns from the Monmouth County facility where he worked and enlisted a friend to help sell the weapons at public housing projects in Jersey City and on the streets of Newark and East Orange, federal investigators said Tuesday.

The scheme began to fall apart when frustrated residents complained to Jersey City police, who then used a sting operation to capture the suspects, authorities said.

Federal agents are now trying to trace dozens of the stolen weapons, many of which they said were sold for between $300 and $500 each or traded for drugs.

"This is a huge number of guns. Our primary goal is to find out where the remaining guns are. We want them in our custody. We don't want them in the hands of criminals or gang members," said special agent Joseph Green, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The two suspects, Patrick Dolan, 28, of Keyport and John Sozomenou, 32, of Aberdeen, surrendered at federal district court in Newark today. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz ordered them both released on $200,000 bond.

They were charged with conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms and face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gribko, who is prosecuting the case.

The conspiracy began in October when Dolan stole a single handgun from the Federal Express facility in Eatontown, according to a criminal complaint unsealed today.

In May, he allegedly stole a shipment of 75 guns from a conveyor belt. The weapons were manufactured by Bersa in Argentina and destined for a southern New Jersey importer, authorities said. Days later, the complaint stated, he stole another shipment of 70 guns from Argentina.

But as Dolan grew bolder, authorities said, he and Sozomenou began raising eyebrows on the streets. Jersey City residents complained to police in May that two white males were selling handguns at three different public housing complexes, the complaint stated.

Tipsters said the guns, new and in their original boxes, were being sold out of a white Ford Bronco and a blue BMW, authorities said. One tipster caught the license plate of the BMW, which police traced to Dolan's girlfriend, according to the complaint.

Authorities used a confidential informant to set up a sting. The informant contacted Dolan and Sozomenou, who agreed to sell about a dozen handguns for approximately $300 apiece.

On May 29, the two suspects showed up at the buy in the Ford Bronco and were arrested. Police found a green army bag in the vehicle with eight Bersa .380-caliber handguns and one Comanche .22-caliber nine-shot revolver, according to the complaint. Authorities said all of the weapons had been stolen from the FedEx facility.

Police also recovered two loaded weapons hidden inside the steering wheel: a Bersa .380-caliber handgun, and a Bersa .40-caliber handgun, both also stolen from FedEx, authorities said.

Both suspects confessed, according to the complaint. They first were charged at the local level, but federal authorities, who can seek stiffer penalties, took over the case.

Greg Tomczak, who represents Dolan, and Peter Willis, who represents Sozomenou, both declined to comment today.

Jim McCluskey, a spokesman for FedEx, said Dolan was fired after his initial arrest in May. He said the company cooperated with investigators.

"It appears to be an isolated issue. We have very tight security procedures in place. We don't tolerate any type of illegal activity in our company," McCluskey said.

He said that in order to ship guns through the U.S. with FedEx, either the shipper or recipient must be a licensed manufacturer, importer, dealer or collector and the shipment must be in compliance with federal, state and local laws.

 

[Red Hat]

Greed and drugs make criminals not hard working, honest, law abiding citizens. I really think that point is getting across mainstream America but not the socialist anti America crowd.

 

[johnsteele]

No, no, no!

This is not the way illegal guns get to the street, it simple isn't. Mayor Bloomberg says that its those lousy Southern gun shops and gun shows --- and he ought to know, he's violated state and federal laws to prove it. Everyone knows this so why do people keep trying to confuse the issue with these meaningless stories of theft.

No, no, no! Do you hear me, no!

/sarc

 

[kwo51]

Even UPS says that it can not stop its own employees from stealing them so we charge you more to ship over night.

 

[tattedupboy]

I'm wondering why the judge allowed them to be released on bond. And we wonder why criminals return to a life of crime when they get released. It's because judge like this one feel that the criminal justice is not there to punish people, but to "rehabilitate" them, and if they are not being sufficiently rehabilitated, then they should be let back out into society.

All he's going to to while he's out is sell more of the guns that he had not yet sold when he first got captured. This proves what we gun owners have known all along. We don't need more gun control; we need to enforce the laws that are already on the books and harshly punish those who break the law. Releasing gun thieves on $200,000 bond won't cut it.

 

[toreskha]

And here I thought that criminals bought their guns by passing background checks and took NRA classes. Michael Bloomberg told me so.

All he's going to to while he's out is sell more of the guns that he had not yet sold when he first got captured.

Well, how else do you expect him to pay his lawyers?

 

[dancingwolf]

No, no, no!

This is not the way illegal guns get to the street, it simple isn't. Mayor Bloomberg says that its those lousy Southern gun shops and gun shows --- and he ought to know, he's violated state and federal laws to prove it. Everyone knows this so why do people keep trying to confuse the issue with these meaningless stories of theft.

No, no, no! Do you hear me, no!

/sarc

That's funny!

 

[khicks]

these two need to be charged with asserery charges for every crime that can be linked to the stolen guns that these two sold. if one of the stolen guns was used in a murder, then these two get murder charges also, if the stolen guns where linked to armed roberys then these two get the arned robery charges. may be that get some others to think twice about selling stolen guns