Anyone notice an uptick in ATF harassment lately, esp. an increase in FFL revocation stories around the country? This article references 7 gunstore shutdowns in Fresno; can any local members confirm, and give some background?
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ATF shuts Merced gun shop
Longtime owner, a former law enforcement officer, says his livelihood is gone
The federal government is closing Roy Stone's gun store in downtown Merced because of clerical errors in the business' records.
By Leslie Albrecht
[email protected]
Last Updated: August 12, 2006, 12:36:55 AM PDT
The federal government is closing Roy Stone's gun store because he broke the law. His crime: sloppy bookkeeping. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is revoking Stone's license to sell guns after an audit revealed clerical errors on paperwork that customers fill out when they buy a gun.
"(Revoking the license) was due to repeated violations of the Gun Control Act that were found during the inspection process," said ATF spokeswoman Nina Delgadillo. "The violations relate to record-keeping obligations."
But Stone said the mistakes were a handful of minor errors like writing the wrong date next to a customer's signature, or forgetting to check off one of the 36 boxes on the three-page form that all gun buyers complete.
Delgadillo said ATF takes those types of errors seriously.
"Our purpose is to detect and prevent the diversion of guns from legal to illegal commerce," said Delgadillo. "Our responsibility is to enforce the law that Congress sets forth and that's what we do."
Stone said his errors were strictly clerical, the kind of human errors that are inevitable at any business.
"I made mistakes but I didn't commit any crimes," said Stone. "I didn't cause any firearms to wind up in the hands of people that shouldn't have them."
Stone isn't the only local gun dealer in trouble for paperwork mistakes. He said seven gun dealers in Fresno have been shut down recently.
Gary Mitchell, owner of Gunrunner Gun Shop on Yosemite Park Way, said the ATF has threatened to revoke his license too because of faulty records.
"We're just businessmen," said Mitchell. "We don't want bad guys to get guns. We're trying to work with law enforcement -- both state and federal -- and they're fighting against us."
The ATF crackdown carries extra sting for Stone, because he spent his career working in law enforcement, retiring as a California Highway Patrol officer in 1993.
When he was a police detective in Modesto, he worked side by side with ATF agents, sometimes drinking coffee with them in his office.
Now that same agency is shutting his business down, and while he didn't expect any special treatment because of his background in law enforcement, he said it doesn't feel good to have the "good guys" against him.
Stone opened Stone's Gun Shop on Main Street in 1988 and ran the business for 13 years with no interference from the federal government.
In 2002 he submitted to his first audit. Then agents started visiting him about once a year to inspect his inventory and logs.
His current problems started when thieves broke into his store and stole some guns in early 2005. The robbery prompted another audit, where agents said they discovered the same violations they had found in 2003.
At a March 2006 hearing at the ATF office in Fresno, Stone told the ATF that a store employee made most of the clerical errors. The employee monitored the paperwork and maintained logs in exchange for an extra two hours of pay, said Stone. But somewhere along the way, Stone stopped double checking his employee's work.
"He became complacent and didn't do his work and it cost me my livelihood," said Stone.
In June, a letter informed Stone of the ATF's decision: his license was being revoked, effective Friday.
He said he consulted two attorneys about his case, but one told him it would cost at least $15,000 to defend and the other told him he was better off getting out of the gun business because the ATF would never stop hounding him.
Stone spent Thursday afternoon at his store, a homey shop where pictures of John Wayne look down from the walls and a coffee pot sits in the corner.
He made one last phone call to a Bay Area ATF office to plead his case and ask for an extension, but the request was denied.
Stone found a buyer to take over his store, but he wanted the extension so he could run his business long enough to pay his rent and bills.
Now he's forbidden from making any transactions involving firearms, and he must turn over all his records to the ATF.
"I tried to do everything right," said Stone. "I just made some blunders looking at forms and not catching mistakes."
Stone, 66, said forced retirement could leave him with more time to pursue his interest in firearm sports.
"It's my passion," said Stone. "I hope I can do more of it now."
Link:http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/12579706p-13288171c.html
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Comment: Sounds very similar to the recent gunstore shutdown in Baltimore. In light of the forced departure of the ATF director recently, and the prospect of a presidential administration change in '08, have some ATF offices decided to play rough, anticipating a shakeup? Has an internal memo been circulating among federal LE? The scripted, non-responsive answers given by ATF in this story have a very familiar ring to them.
I sense storm clouds on the horizon.
Your opinions are invited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ATF shuts Merced gun shop
Longtime owner, a former law enforcement officer, says his livelihood is gone
The federal government is closing Roy Stone's gun store in downtown Merced because of clerical errors in the business' records.
By Leslie Albrecht
[email protected]
Last Updated: August 12, 2006, 12:36:55 AM PDT
The federal government is closing Roy Stone's gun store because he broke the law. His crime: sloppy bookkeeping. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is revoking Stone's license to sell guns after an audit revealed clerical errors on paperwork that customers fill out when they buy a gun.
"(Revoking the license) was due to repeated violations of the Gun Control Act that were found during the inspection process," said ATF spokeswoman Nina Delgadillo. "The violations relate to record-keeping obligations."
But Stone said the mistakes were a handful of minor errors like writing the wrong date next to a customer's signature, or forgetting to check off one of the 36 boxes on the three-page form that all gun buyers complete.
Delgadillo said ATF takes those types of errors seriously.
"Our purpose is to detect and prevent the diversion of guns from legal to illegal commerce," said Delgadillo. "Our responsibility is to enforce the law that Congress sets forth and that's what we do."
Stone said his errors were strictly clerical, the kind of human errors that are inevitable at any business.
"I made mistakes but I didn't commit any crimes," said Stone. "I didn't cause any firearms to wind up in the hands of people that shouldn't have them."
Stone isn't the only local gun dealer in trouble for paperwork mistakes. He said seven gun dealers in Fresno have been shut down recently.
Gary Mitchell, owner of Gunrunner Gun Shop on Yosemite Park Way, said the ATF has threatened to revoke his license too because of faulty records.
"We're just businessmen," said Mitchell. "We don't want bad guys to get guns. We're trying to work with law enforcement -- both state and federal -- and they're fighting against us."
The ATF crackdown carries extra sting for Stone, because he spent his career working in law enforcement, retiring as a California Highway Patrol officer in 1993.
When he was a police detective in Modesto, he worked side by side with ATF agents, sometimes drinking coffee with them in his office.
Now that same agency is shutting his business down, and while he didn't expect any special treatment because of his background in law enforcement, he said it doesn't feel good to have the "good guys" against him.
Stone opened Stone's Gun Shop on Main Street in 1988 and ran the business for 13 years with no interference from the federal government.
In 2002 he submitted to his first audit. Then agents started visiting him about once a year to inspect his inventory and logs.
His current problems started when thieves broke into his store and stole some guns in early 2005. The robbery prompted another audit, where agents said they discovered the same violations they had found in 2003.
At a March 2006 hearing at the ATF office in Fresno, Stone told the ATF that a store employee made most of the clerical errors. The employee monitored the paperwork and maintained logs in exchange for an extra two hours of pay, said Stone. But somewhere along the way, Stone stopped double checking his employee's work.
"He became complacent and didn't do his work and it cost me my livelihood," said Stone.
In June, a letter informed Stone of the ATF's decision: his license was being revoked, effective Friday.
He said he consulted two attorneys about his case, but one told him it would cost at least $15,000 to defend and the other told him he was better off getting out of the gun business because the ATF would never stop hounding him.
Stone spent Thursday afternoon at his store, a homey shop where pictures of John Wayne look down from the walls and a coffee pot sits in the corner.
He made one last phone call to a Bay Area ATF office to plead his case and ask for an extension, but the request was denied.
Stone found a buyer to take over his store, but he wanted the extension so he could run his business long enough to pay his rent and bills.
Now he's forbidden from making any transactions involving firearms, and he must turn over all his records to the ATF.
"I tried to do everything right," said Stone. "I just made some blunders looking at forms and not catching mistakes."
Stone, 66, said forced retirement could leave him with more time to pursue his interest in firearm sports.
"It's my passion," said Stone. "I hope I can do more of it now."
Link:http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/12579706p-13288171c.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comment: Sounds very similar to the recent gunstore shutdown in Baltimore. In light of the forced departure of the ATF director recently, and the prospect of a presidential administration change in '08, have some ATF offices decided to play rough, anticipating a shakeup? Has an internal memo been circulating among federal LE? The scripted, non-responsive answers given by ATF in this story have a very familiar ring to them.
I sense storm clouds on the horizon.
Your opinions are invited.
