Feds Indict Mayor, Police Chief Of Border Town As ATF 'Gunrunner' Program Faces Heat

[jpak]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/feds_indict_mayor_police_chief_of_border_town_as_atf_gunrunner_program_faces_heat.php

Eleven people -- including the mayor, police chief and a town councilman in Columbus, N.M. -- have been indicted by the feds for alleged involvement in an international gun running scheme that may have fueled violence south of the border.

Ten out of the eleven defendants charged in the trafficking ring will be arraigned Tuesday on charges of conspiracy, smuggling and making false statements in connection with firearms purchases, according to federal officials.

Mayor Eddie Espinoza allegedly served as a straw buyer for 22 pistols and stored weapons in an apartment he leased in a gated El Paso, Texas complex, reports the Wall Street Journal. The feds say Police Chief Angelo Vega bought bullet-proof vests and other body armor to be smuggled and participated in a cash pickup in Albuquerque. They also say he called federal agents twice to try to intercede on behalf of a village councilman, Blas Gutierrez, who was also accused in the smuggling scheme.

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[lawodevolution]

1. So a bunch of dudes with access to full autos that civilians can't buy because they are the

"only ones" get busted and this is an argument for what? jpak? You have a point?

I'll make the point for you. It looks like giving special previliges to "authorized" individuals is a bad idea. If civilians can't own full auto, police and mayors should not be able to touch such weapons.

[Sonoman]

2. Oh, goodness...

Just because something is illegal, doesn't mean people won't possess that illegal something.

Once the bad guys have more firepower than Law Enforcement, things will be fucked beyond belief. I own a ton of firepower (not all of it legal in CA) just in case something like that happens. Remember those bank robbers in L.A. a few years back?

Anyone who has spent much time in border towns will not be surprised by these actions and arrests.

Sonoman

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Oh good grief.

1: The bank robbers killed no-one, and died.
2: Mere possession of the parts to assemble an unregistered NFA weapon is 10 years in federal prison.

Bad guys in America are not going to get 'more firepower' than the federal government's law enforcement arms, let alone the states. Not in quantities that are useful for anything.

[lawodevolution]

6. There is no need to tip the scale in favor of law enforcement by

Limiting what civilians may own. The best way to give the police advantage is have them train once per week.

Give the typical gangster an ak47, give me a 22lr pistol and I'll probably win a gunfight with him. It's about training.

[rl6214]

4. Didn't see anything about full auto weapons in the story

I am about 45 miles from there and there has been a little more coverage here and no mention of full auto. I don't think there were any involved.

I do like how jpak completely ignored the part of the article concerning project gunrunner.

Let's see if we can include a little of it here:

The charges come at a trying time for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is facing criticism for the way it handled Project Gunrunner, a national initiative targeting illegal gun trafficking on the Mexico border. A senior ATF agent has told media outlets that ATF supervisors ordered agents not to intercept weapons made in suspicious sales --- but instead to monitor them to see where the weapons ended up.

snip



"At first, ATF and the Justice Department repeatedly denied the allegations, asserting that they were 'false.' However, now that I have presented extensive documentary evidence supporting the claims,

snip

The ATF's work on the border has long been dogged by controversy. Last November, a Justice Department Inspector General report found "significant weaknesses in ATF's implementation of Project Gunrunner undermine its effectiveness" and concluded that ATF was not sharing information with other federal agencies, was not properly communicating with Mexican officials and was focusing too much of their effort on low-level gun traffickers while ignoring the bigger cases.

ATF dishonesty

YUP

YUP

YUP

[rl6214]

3. This is old news.

I know you've been away but try to keep up with the times.

[WatsonT]

7. So how would closing the "gun show loophole"

and restricting gun sales along the border have prevented this?

[gejohnston]

8. Something missing

Let's see, according to snopes, fact check, and stratfor.com, the drug gangs are getting fully automatic weapons (machine guns) and crew serviced weapons from China, Israel, and Vietnam as well as grenades from Korea. These guys get busted for .22 pistols and title 1 Kalashnikov knock offs? Kind of like bailing out a boat with an eye dropper. If they are guilty, by all means throw away the key. They should have been busted at the border the first time. BATF's job is to enforce US federal gun control laws, not Mexico's. Were these guns going to the gangs? Otherwise law abiding Mexicans who are buying them to defend themselves from the gangs and their bought and paid for police? A worthy project for real journalists with the guts and curiosity, but not BATF's.
There is a bigger story worth exploring, which the US corporate media will not touch because it won't have the bleeding leads. The "progressive" media won't because it might contradict their narrative that our gun laws are the cause of Mexico's problems. Faux News won't touch it because they would have to hire journalists. I don't agree with Grassley on very many things, but I do on this. My only question is why there are not any Dems asking the same questions.