Drizzt
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Daily News (New York)
June 6, 2003, Friday SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 359 words
HEADLINE: GUN BUST SHOT FULL OF HOLES Suspect working for NYPD
BYLINE: By JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Law enforcement officials were red-faced yesterday after the feds busted a suspected gun trafficker who was working undercover for the NYPD and Queens district attorney, the Daily News has learned.
The suspect was arraigned Wednesday in federal court on Long Island on charges he illegally obtained five guns in North Carolina, sources said.
After his arrest, he told agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that the NYPD and Queens prosecutors had approved the trip and the gun deal.
The suspect, whose name is being withheld by The News, said he was working on a case for the NYPD firearms investigations unit.
That squad operates separately from the Joint Firearms Task Force, composed of cops and ATF agents.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Lato acknowledged at the suspect's arraignment that "some of what he is saying is true."
Besides the embarrassment of one law enforcement agency not knowing what another was doing, the feds are questioning how cops would permit a twice-convicted felon to travel out of state and get guns.
"We hope the Police Department was his only customer," a federal official said.
Sources said the suspect returned to New York City with the handguns in November and set up a deal in which another man sold them to an undercover cop in Queens.
The guns went to the NYPD ballistics unit, which determined that one was part of a multiple purchase at Jim's Pawn and Gun Shop in Wilmington, Del.
That was a red flag that required local authorities to make a report to the feds.
But federal agents on the joint task force were not aware of the local probe and launched an investigation that led them to the police informant.
An NYPD spokesman said the department is "looking into the matter." But Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and ATF declined comment.
Federal authorities are examining the circumstances of the suspect's deal with local authorities to determine whether to drop the charges against him.
Complicating matters, one source said, is the fact that the NYPD detective supervising the suspect is on vacation and the prosecutor handling his case is on maternity leave.
June 6, 2003, Friday SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 359 words
HEADLINE: GUN BUST SHOT FULL OF HOLES Suspect working for NYPD
BYLINE: By JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Law enforcement officials were red-faced yesterday after the feds busted a suspected gun trafficker who was working undercover for the NYPD and Queens district attorney, the Daily News has learned.
The suspect was arraigned Wednesday in federal court on Long Island on charges he illegally obtained five guns in North Carolina, sources said.
After his arrest, he told agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that the NYPD and Queens prosecutors had approved the trip and the gun deal.
The suspect, whose name is being withheld by The News, said he was working on a case for the NYPD firearms investigations unit.
That squad operates separately from the Joint Firearms Task Force, composed of cops and ATF agents.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Lato acknowledged at the suspect's arraignment that "some of what he is saying is true."
Besides the embarrassment of one law enforcement agency not knowing what another was doing, the feds are questioning how cops would permit a twice-convicted felon to travel out of state and get guns.
"We hope the Police Department was his only customer," a federal official said.
Sources said the suspect returned to New York City with the handguns in November and set up a deal in which another man sold them to an undercover cop in Queens.
The guns went to the NYPD ballistics unit, which determined that one was part of a multiple purchase at Jim's Pawn and Gun Shop in Wilmington, Del.
That was a red flag that required local authorities to make a report to the feds.
But federal agents on the joint task force were not aware of the local probe and launched an investigation that led them to the police informant.
An NYPD spokesman said the department is "looking into the matter." But Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and ATF declined comment.
Federal authorities are examining the circumstances of the suspect's deal with local authorities to determine whether to drop the charges against him.
Complicating matters, one source said, is the fact that the NYPD detective supervising the suspect is on vacation and the prosecutor handling his case is on maternity leave.
