cuchulainn
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The headline is wrong.
from New York Newsday
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local...7282598.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-manhattan
from New York Newsday
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local...7282598.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-manhattan
2 Gun Dealers Nabbed
By Anthony M. DeStefano
Staff Writer
April 16, 2003, 6:20 PM EDT
Two local handgun dealers were among the top retail sources of guns recovered from New York City crime scenes over a five-year period, according to federal data.
The names of the dealers were identified in Brooklyn federal court in connection with a suit by the NAACP alleging that firearms manufacturers were negligent in the way they controlled the marketing of handguns.
Specifics about the dealers and the percentage of recovered weapons traced back to them were disclosed for the first time outside of law-enforcement circles.
In his testimony, Dr. Thomas Andrews of Columbia University, an expert witness for the NAACP, described his analysis of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms gun-trace information for the years 1996 through 2000. Andrews focused much of his testimony on 12,578 traces done on guns used in crimes in New York State, 6,982 traces of which related to city crimes.
Andrews said his analysis revealed that Virginia Police Equipment, a company located in Virginia, was the source of 152 handguns, or 1.3 percent of the total found. It was followed by R and B Guns, also of Virginia, which accounted for 121 traces or 1.1 percent of total. A Manhattan retailer, John Jovino Gun Shop, ranked third on the list, said Andrews, with 101 traces or 0.9 percent, the same for Southern Police Equipment Co., of Virginia. Fifth on Andrew's list was "Leslie Edelman," believed to be Leslie Edelman of N.Y. Inc., a now-closed Farmingdale firm, accounting for 78 traces or 0.7 percent of the total.
Despite two New York area firms being the source of a relatively large number of guns ultimately used in crimes, Andrews said that the ATF data reinforced the prevailing wisdom: "You don't see many New York dealers in the top 20."
New York and New Jersey, Andrews testified, are different from most states because most of the guns used in crimes come from outside their borders.
"The data shows the top source of crime guns comes from dealers in Virginia and other southern states," said Mathew S. Nosanchuk, litigation director of the non-profit Violence Policy Center, which is assisting the NAACP.
The suit against scores of firearms manufacturers alleges that their marketing policies were too slack and contributed to handguns getting in the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, who commit crimes with disproportionate impact on the African-American community.
None of the dealers are defendants in the lawsuit and none have been accused of any wrongdoing.
Officials at Virginia Police Equipment, R and B Guns and Southern Police Equipment could not be reached for comment yesterday.
At John Jovino Gun Shop, a man answering the phone said the owner was not available.
Robert Ishkanian, president of Edelman's Pistol Permit Service, said that Leslie Edelman of N.Y. went out of business around 1997 as a firearms retailer. Ishkanian said the ATF data does not surprise him because the Edelman retail operation was the largest seller of firearms in the area.
Ishkanian said the pistol permit service, which helps clients secure licenses, was once a part of the retailer.
Copyright © Newsday, Inc.
