Date: Sat Nov 4, 2000 8:37am
Subject: ATF Rips Off Another Gun Dealer in Arizona
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From: spiker
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Sent: Friday, November 03, 2000 9:20 PM
Subject: ATF Rips Off Another Gun Dealer in Arizona
Source:
KeepandBearArms.com
http://keepandbeararms.com/
ATF Rips Off Another Gun Dealer in Arizona
http://keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=834
Confiscates 274 guns and 3,000 Form 4473's
Without making an official arrest or even filing charges
by Angel Shamaya Director, KeepAndBearArms.com
November 1, 2000
"They were throwing vintage collector's items in mint condition through the
air and into a trashcan 10 feet away," said Jerry Michel, licensed gun
dealer, after being assaulted and pillaged by the ATF. "I felt like I was
going to throw up."
And so might you before you're done reading this report.
On October 25, 2000, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms sent
approximately 30 federal and local agents in stormtrooper attire to
confiscate firearms from a dealer who, according to what they told him,
"did not have his papers in order."
Jerry's Guns & Ammo d.b.a. Specialty Firearms of Mesa, Arizona was the
latest in a long list of gun dealers who've been paid a visit by people
who, when rightly told, "You're not supposed to do that" respond by saying
things like: "We're the ATF. We can do whatever we want."
According to Jerry Michel, that's what they said to him when he confronted
them as they threw a 1960's Winchester Model 94 Antique into a trashcan
that already contained a few dozen of his guns. Though the classic, mint
condition gun was still in its original box, they removed it from the box
and tossed it into the growing pile of firearms ranging in value from a few
hundred to several thousand dollars -- metal slamming against metal, metal
gouging wood, etc. -- like one might toss so much kindling onto a campfire.
These government operatives also confiscated guns Jerry held on consignment
for several customers, and they also took his personally-owned firearms
along with guns he'd been storing for an ailing friend.
When I called ATF today to find out if it is standard operating procedure
to wantonly damage collector's items when they are stealing them, Larry X
said, "They didn't do that. They don't do things like that."
"Were you there, Larry?"
"No, I wasn't."
"Then how do you know they didn't do that, Larry?"
His response made me laugh: "Who am I speaking with again?"
You should be able to see the above actions on color video. Jerry
installed video surveillance equipment at Specialty Firearms some time ago
and uses it consistently during hours of operation, too. He'd only been
open for three minutes when he was lured out the front door under false
pretenses and surrounded by heavily armed and body-armored gun
confiscators, so there was a new tape in the player and the tape was
rolling. But ATF confiscated the tape that shows them unnecessarily and
irreparably damaging Jerry's property -- and broke his VCR in the process.
I am sitting here reading -- for the third time -- the search warrant,
given to me by Jerry himself, and I can't seem to locate the words "video
tape" anywhere on the warrant.
The video tape will be subpoenaed to prove damages, we pray, in a class
action lawsuit against ATF. Will it mysteriously disappear?
(Was ATF afraid to let people see what abusive and disrespectful people
they are? Why else would they cover their tracks like common
hoodlums? Maybe Special Agent in Charge and Group Supervisor Marvin
G. Richardson or Assistant SAIC, Joe M. Gordon -- overseers in this
outrageous act of violence -- can answer those questions. Or perhaps
Robert C. Gantt, the agent who secured the search warrant from
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson -- the judge who presided over
Bob Stewart's preposterous hearings -- can help shed some light on how a
tape can be stolen when it's not on the search warrant.)
The Mesa police assisted in this raid, as well, earning themselves a
demotion in the eyes of every gun owner in Arizona. Congratulations,
officers. You helped assault a Good Guy and alienated a whole segment of
the society you are supposed to protect and serve.
Nice goin'.
Jerry's crime? Apparently, in Mesa, the city has an ordinance requiring
gun dealers to have a "pawn permit" if they sell used firearms -- or so he
was told while a team of armed and consistently disrespectful "men" busied
themselves stealing 274 guns with an estimated value of approximately $300,000.
"How much is the pawn permit," you ask? $100.
Jerry Michel's Federal Firearms License (FFL) is current by way of a 6
month extension, so he is in fact a legal gun dealer. In fact, he's had
his FFL since 1986, continuously. He does business with approximately 285
other gun dealers around the nation, and his reputation is one of integrity
and lawfulness. No arrests or prior convictions, at all.
Not even a speeding ticket to his name. Jerry is a "by the book" kinda guy.
Except for that little permit said to be required in Mesa. And that is
only if the ATF was telling the truth. (Some of them are incorrigible
liars, you know. ATF sends super-secret special agents who impersonate
other people's identities into gun dealers' businesses to attempt to trick
them into committing technical violations, so they are not only liars, they
are entrapping imposters, as well.)
Jerry Michel had two guns on his person at the time of the assault.
Both were returned to him after his business and personal quarters were
trashed entirely, all drawers emptied as if the place had been looted. (It
had.) When he asked if he was "out of business," he was told he could
conduct business as usual. When he asked what he was supposed to sell, one
agent's response tells all about the ATF. "You can sell some of this
ammo," he said with a mean, sneering chuckle. "Heh heh." The fact that
Jerry's gun business profits are helping to take care of his ailing mother
-- who just got out of the hospital and is on expensive medications -- is
of little importance to ATF. They strip people of their possessions and
livelihood for insignificant, petty technical violations as a way of
life. It's who they are.
With an unusual October rain pouring down on a cool desert night, the
battered gun dealer began to open up about the event. We were sitting in
my vehicle in a parking lot of an auto parts store in Mesa as Jerry was
feeling a bit uncomfortable in his home and business. John Arbon of
CPHV.com was with us. Having been a personal friend of Jerry's for nearly
4 years, he helped set up the meeting. (During the two and a half hours we
talked, several unmarked vehicles u-turned at the median directly in front
of where we were parked, some of them two and three times, and every time
we noticed that the vehicles had two to four antennas sticking out of them
-- and the passengers kept hiding their faces. Coincidence?)
"I have operated my business by the book to the very best of my ability
since day one," Jerry stated matter-of-factly. "In fact, I have sold many
guns to police officers over the years, and I've worked on a lot of cops'
guns, for quite some time.
I've even had cops ask me to build machineguns for them and to show them
how to convert guns to full auto, and I have refused every time. I respect
the law. I have a lot of friends who are good cops, and I respect them, too."
But the law no longer respects gun dealers like they once did, a fact
Mr. Jerry Michel now fully and very personally understands.
"I don't have anything to hide," he said quite clearly, exasperated. "I am
not a criminal. I just got my FFL extension in mid May. Why would they
extend my license if I was under suspicion?" he asked, reaching for
understanding as to why he was targeted. "And why wouldn't they simply
call me up and tell me I need to come down and pay for some $100
permit? That is what an aboveboard and citizen-supportive organization
would do."
During the course of this atrocity, Mr. Michel's fingerprints were taken,
on the premises.
His mugshots were also taken, right out in front of his store with 35-40
people looking on, including one or two of his own customers. "I was
humiliated and outraged, and I still am," he says. "I did nothing at all
to deserve this, and they treated me like I was a criminal right out in
front of my own store."
Angel Shamaya: Jerry, this type of assault is being perpetrated against
lawful, peaceable gun dealers all across America -- and has been going on
for many years. We consistently hear from dealers how they were mistreated
during the ordeal of watching their possessions stolen and their quarters
ransacked. What are some other things you'd like to let people know about
this event?
Jerry Michel: Angel, it was disgusting to see them damaging gun after
gun. I literally felt dizzy and sick. And when I told them to please at
least take decent care of my guns, one of them said "Shut up!" I continued
to complain, and he said, again, "I told you to SHUT UP!" That was the
theme. They destroy my life's work, my prize collection, my customers'
custom made guns, and I was just supposed to bend over and take it with a
smile. It was a nightmare! And these guys took things they couldn't
possibly have a reason to take. For example, they took a black powder
firearm. Now why in heaven's name would they do that?!
AS: Because they can. Nobody is stopping them, and they show up with 30
armed people to commit their crimes, so resistance means sure death, unless...
Honestly, the ATF are traitors to the Constitution (that countless guys
died for) who engage in such lowly and unnecessary tactics because they are
an integral part of the tyrannical anti-gun, anti-freedom movement that
seeks to destroy firearms freedom completely, as quickly as they can. And
they do it because they are an unregulated agency with unbridled power run
and manned by men who routinely disrespect the foundational American
individual right to keep and bear arms. In other words, they are hired
anti-American thugs.
JM: You know, before this happened, I thought the ATF was getting a bad rap
in the gun community. I've only ever had them be polite to me. I used to
welcome them in and we'd actually chew the fat, you know, talk like
people. But after this experience, I can see why you say that. What they
did to me and to my property is wrong. And you're right about their
perspective on the right to keep and bear arms, too. One of them asked me,
"Are you one of those constitution fanatics?" I said, "Well, I believe in
the Constitution, don't you?" He ignored me and continued trashing my place
while I sat helpless, handcuffed and with guys behind me holding guns on me.
AS: Happens every week in America, Jerry. Gun owners in America are now,
far too often, like the Jews under Hitler. Scorned, abused, jailed and
killed by the government gestapo, and ours goes by the name of the
BATF. So what else did they do that makes you see red?
JM: Well, let's see. Oh, they took a flare launcher and called it a
grenade launcher. And they told me I sold two guns to straw
purchasers. When they said that, I actually raised my voice and said,
"That is a LIE!" They then tried to tell me they had proof that I sold to
straw purchasers. I told them to show me the person and the gun and I
would prove they were lying, and they just laughed at me and kept throwing
my guns into a plastic trashcan on top of each other like they were
enjoying it. Not only have I never knowingly sold a gun to someone that
was intended for someone else, I've kicked people out of my store who were
engaging in conversations that even remotely seemed like that was their
intention, and I have plenty of witnesses to such oustings, too. They also
took two Colt Custom Single Action Army's with real mother-of-pearl grips
out of their boxes and threw them into the trashcan they were
filling. They also took guns I've had since I was 10 or 11 years old that
were made before serial numbers were required.
AS: We hear this one a lot from gun owners. ATF sends agents in, under
cover, who behave like one is buying a gun for another, in hopes of
catching a dealer who is not paying attention. Do you have any suggestions
for other dealers who will be reading this message, Jerry?
JM: Boy do I! Tell them this: "Any guy who has a Federal Firearms License,
don't think this couldn't happen to you. Every bad thing you've heard
about the ATF, I'm sorry to say, is true. They entrap you on some asinine
technicality and destroy your property while you're cuffed, and they point
loaded guns at you. They steal your entire life's collection and throw it
into a heap like it was trash. They belittle you, degrade you, and they
attempt to get you to admit to things you did not say or do, and they enjoy
it. Be careful, and follow every little tiny detail of the increasing
red-tape regulations, and they still find a way to justify assaulting
you. So watch your back, and be careful who you are willing to trust,
because these guys look just like some of your customers, and they act like
them too. In retrospect, I wonder now if I should have asked every single
customer except those I knew well if they were government agents before I
ever sold them anything at all, and it might be a good idea if you do that,
too."
AS: You seem like you're holding back from saying more, Jerry. I get a
sense you're not really saying all that you feel like saying. Care to comment?
JM: Angel, listen, my mother just got out of the hospital again, and the
slim margins from my gun business have been helping me and my sister take
care of her. They've also just stripped me of my retirement. That's
right, MY RETIREMENT. I had planned on selling much of my collection some
time in the next few years and retiring, and now it's all gone, supposedly
because of some $100 "pawn permit." They trashed custom guns that used to
make people do a double-take when they saw them. My customers would say
things like, "I didn't know a gun could look so perfect." And they threw
those perfect guns of amazingly high personal and financial value into a
trashcan. Am I angry? You bet I am. I don't even want to sleep at home,
and my home is behind my shop, so it's all one big ugly mess now. They've
not only successfully run me out of business, my mom called me today and
told me she felt like she was having a heart attack just thinking about
what they've done to me. I know the ATF has killed innocent people over
their guns, and now they have compromised the privacy of over 3,000 of my
customers by confiscating my sales records from the last 15 years. THIS IS
AN OUTRAGE!! They even threw the business proprietor next door up against
the wall when he walked outside to see what was going on -- and patted him
down, when he did nothing, and that is an illegal search, isn't it?
~~~
Jerry has every right to be livid. I read through the 23-page list of guns
the ATF took from him. When I called ATF today, I was told he's not even
been charged with anything, nor would they disclose their justification for
committing such an offensive operation against a man who bends over
backwards to comply with laws. A phone call would have yielded their
supposed $100 "pawn permit." And, the search warrant -- in my possession --
does not name some of what was taken, nor is the list (of confiscated guns
ATF agents left with Jerry) a complete list.
John Arbon (being threatened with lawsuit by HCI/CPHV for the domain name
CPHV.com) alerted me to this mess through his having posted a personal
account on TheFiringLine.com, an exceptional message board for gun owners.
John visited his friend's gun shop during the ATF assault. In John's own
words, written just after witnessing the thieves in action:
I just got home from the most disturbing sight I have ever
witnessed. Earlier today I tried calling the gun dealer that I have known
and purchased from for
4 years now. The phone was busy for hours, and when I did get through all
I got was his answering machine. Very unusual. I drove over to his shop
and found the parking lot jammed with unmarked, tinted windowed cars, along
with an SUV pulling a Mesa City Police trailer.
The shop door was propped open, not usual. Three men were standing outside
the door, one black, one oriental, one white. All had 'ATF' stitched over
their left breast side of their shirts.
I parked, got out and walked through the door as though I knew what I was
doing. Inside I saw 10-12 more ATF maggots handling the guns, writing
things down and pulling things off of the shelves.
"What are you doing in here?" the voice from behind me asked.
"Where's Jerry?" I asked, stunned.
"He's not here. What do you want?"
"I came by to pick up a gun. Is he alright?"
"He's fine. You can pick it up tomorrow."
"He'll be open then?"
"He should be," was the response.
John saw firsthand what many of us have known was happening for quite some
time.
We will procure the search warrant affidavit as soon as possible and post
it on KeepAndBearArms.com. These guys are going to need some hard evidence
to get away with this, and they don't have any, so they'll have to make it
up -- again. Shouldn't be too terribly difficult for the ATF...we think
inventing and tampering with evidence might even be part of their training.
Many questions in this case remain as yet unanswered. Those that stand out
like a sore thumb include:
Why are there no charges when 30 armed-to-the-teeth "men" assaulted a man,
confiscated 274 guns and over 3,000 records that show private information
of 3,000 Americans? Where are the charges?
Jerry Michel asked more than once if he was being arrested, and he was told
"NO, you're being detained." If this man wasn't even arrested, why were
prints and mugshots taken? And why was the video tape taken from Mr.
Michel's surveillance equipment? Inquiring minds want to know. Surely
someone has an answer, but it sure as Hell isn't Jerry Michel. He's
dumbfounded.
Jerry Michel gets the closing statement today, as follows: "If these guys
will do this to me over some $100 permit when I was already licensed to
sell firearms, I shudder to think of what they would do to someone over a
$10,000 violation."
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