There's also considerable evidence of harassment, and of the BATF going on fishing expeditions, something which they've long been known to do, even though they are only supposed to look at the purchase records when a gun is being traced in connection with a crime.
From the article:
The investigation that led to the license revocation started nearly nine years ago when, the ATF said, it found problems in Abrams' bookkeeping. In July 1997, agents compared the number of firearms listed in the store's books with the number of firearms on the premises.
The store came up 45 weapons short, according to agents.
After more missing weapons were identified after a 1999 inspection, the bureau held a "warning conference" with Abrams, who promised to improve record-keeping.
Agents returned in 2001 and noted 133 missing weapons. They held another "warning conference." Abrams again pledged to make progress.
Finally, in May 2003, an audit of Abrams' books found 472 weapons unaccounted for. The ATF issued a notice of license revocation in May 2004. In October, an administrative hearing officer ruled that Abrams' violations were "willful."
Note: an "administrative hearing officer" would be a BATFer, not a judge, and certainly not a jury.
The revocation was pending the outcome of a civil action - the store owner appealed the administrative ruling in court and lost (US District Judge William M. Nickerson, appt. by Bush in 2001 or so), and the BATF pulled the licence when the that ruling came down this week. Owner can be expected to appeal, but can't sell guns in the meantime.
If his reported sales and inventory numbers don't match up, he might be able to look forward to dealing with the IRS as well.