Posted on 02/18/2005 9:47:38 AM PST by Coleus
Undercover agents bought the ''Czech version of the AK-47'' from Mayes in New Jersey, where it's illegal to own assault rifles, authorities said.
Mayes sold six Izhmash Saiga 7.62x39mm rifles to an undercover agent and a cooperating witness during four transactions between Nov. 4 and Jan. 7, agents said.
The agent last spoke to Mayes on Saturday about buying more weapons, and Mayes said their next transaction ''was still a go,'' according to court records.
Agents said Smurda bought five rifles legally from a gun dealer in Breinigsville and illegally transported them to Irvington, where Mayes resold them for at least $1,600 apiece and as much as $2,000.
During the transactions, Mayes told the informant that he could get any type of weapon he wanted from his supplier, who was about to marry his sister, according to court records.
''You know you are selling them illegally if you purchased them for $350 in Pennsylvania and sell them for $2,000 in New Jersey,'' said Steve Kodak, an FBI special agent in New Jersey.
Mitchell Mausers perhaps?
Sounds crappy, kind of like entrapment. On the other hand he probably knew it was illegal.
For the record I don't believe in gun laws of any kind, but then again I don't carry a pistol here in NY State because I don't have the permit and know it's illegal.
I have always said there were enough laws on guns if we just prosecuted the laws we have. Now I am not familiar with this case , but if these people broke the law and one of them being a police officer should have known the law , why are we standing up for them?
So making a profit is illegal, apparently. Steve Kodak, you are the picture of FedGov arrogance.
If that FBI agent wants to see a truly "Sad Day" and "Grave Crimes" he should sit in a classroom once and see what they teach the children!
Sounds like they are being prosecuted under a Law that infringes that Right. Good enough for me. IM not so HO, there isn't a gun law on the books that passes a Constitutional smell test.
No, he's probably exploiting the gun show "loophole"! ;-)
Because, as far as we can tell from one short news item, they didn't do anything wrong. Selling 5 is no big deal. If they were AWs, the only "wrongdoing" involved harmless cosmetics. That a cop and a teacher were involved can indicate that they didn't think anything was wrong with it.
The high markup makes me recall a case in NY:
Police got odd reports of a few ethnically identifiable folks buying large quantities of baby formula in upper NY. They'd go into grocery stores, buy up ALL the formula, pay cash, and leave. It was obvious they weren't from around there, and obvious they weren't merely feeding their babies. Concerned that there might be some new drug scheme afoot, police mounted an investigation and caught the nefarious fellows. After much interrogation, the truth came out: the "gang" had simply found a price discrepancy for the product in one part of the state vs. another, and was simply buying it cheaply elsewhere in the state and selling it for a profit in NY City.
So the question remains: what, really, were the teacher & cop doing wrong? did it really merit jail time?
None, the law is somewhat vague, but it's not the number you sell, but rather if you are selling them primarily to make money, as opposed to moving guns out of your private collection so you can buy some different ones. If it was numbers, my brother in law would be doing hard time in the federal pen. He never keeps 'em very long, and he's always got a safe full. (He does have a 'Core group' which move much more slowly, that includes his Cowboy Action guns, and his scoped sniper hunting rifles.)
Kind of? It is entrapment. Unless he approached them offering to sell them guns.
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