What Was Really Behind Nassau County’s Gun Store Raids?

[Remmah2]

Apparently there's a very deep story behind the recent raid.

Original story:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x379674


Nassau County raided four Gun Shops in a $80,000 tax-payer funded sting operation on Wednesday. The owners and employees were arrested and charged with selling illegal “assault weapons” to undercover Nassau County investigators.


All of the owners insist that they were following the law. Martin Tretola, the owner of T&T Gunnery, was captured on undercover video demonstrating how to hypothetically alter a rifle by removing the pin to make a fixed stock collapsible, but he clearly explains that the weapon is “law enforcement only”, and added “you take that pin out, I’m telling you, you’re in trouble with this gun.” Tretola was charged with criminal sale of a firearm in the second degree, a class B Felony, and a misdemeanor charge of firearms licensing provisions. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.


But there’s more to this story than most are reporting. In 2008, Martin Tretola filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit in federal court against Nassau County for violations of his constitutional rights. The County was unable to dismiss the lawsuit, and it is scheduled for trial soon. Right before the jury is selected is an awfully convenient time for another raid and arrest. (More to the story):


Follow up story:
http://www.longislandlawyerblog.com/what-was-really-behind-nassau-countys-gun-store-raids

[jpak]

1. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time

yup

[Glassunion]

2. woosh!

[Remmah2]

5. Sounds to me like the tax payers are the only ones losing.

No crime no time. Sounds to me like bullying and entrampment on behalf of a certain law enforcement officer.

[bossy22]

9. what about the tax dollars that will pay for the lawsuit compensation

after these individuals are found not-guilty and file a class action lawsuit

[sailor65]

7. Depends on who you think did the crime....

here it was the police that broke the law. Hopefully that's what you're talking about.

[PavePusher]

12. Finally, you got one right!

The Nassau county officials should be prepared to go to jail for this.

[Euromutt]

13. Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege

"No crime, no punishment, without a law."

You're not very big on this whole "due process of law" and "presumption of innocence" stuff, are you? I mean, we're still at the stage that it needs to be determined whether a criminal offense even occurred, let alone whether the suspects are guilty of committing it.

[Remmah2]

3. Nassau County Crime Lab Shut Down

Makes me wonder who's responsible in Nassau county? What other civil rights have been violated?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/nyregion/19nassau.html

[Mist]

4. Sounds like Mr. Tretola got under somebody's skin. nt

[X_Digger]

6. He refused to break the law for a cop..

According to Tretola, in March 2006, Tretola received a telephone call from a Police Officer Faltings from the NCPD. Officer Faltings ordered Tretola to turn over possession of a particular firearm to a friend of Officer Faltings without the purchase documents for that particular weapon. Tretola denied Officer Falting’s request, at which point Officer Faltings allegedly responded “Do you know who I am? I am the head of the Pistol Licensing Bureau of Nassau County.”. Tretola responded in words or substance that “I do not care who you are or what you are. What you are asking of me is against the law and I will not do it.”

Sounds like punative retribution to me..

[bossy22]

8. i dont know about this

from what i hear (i spoke to some of the individuals that are directly involved) this was more DA K. Rice trying to make a name for herself. The owners and employees that were arrested don't seem to worried about the charges and there are rumors that many NY state police officers that are high up in gun licensing divisions are going to testify on behalf of the stores.

From what i know it seems like the issue came down to the fact that dealers were buying up non-ban compliant weapons and making them compliant so they could be sold to the public. What Nassau county is arguing is that once a gun is non-compliant it can never be compliant- even if you remove what makes the weapon non-compliant.

Also the video of that gun dealer "showing" how to make a weapon non-compliant is also not solid evidence. The dealer basically says "if you remove this pin you can revert the stock to its collapsable state- but you would be in a lot of trouble if you do that". By basically concluding the statement with "its illegal" takes some wind out of the sails.

MY prediction is that this is going to end up in a class action lawsuit against the county.

[Remmah2]

10. First Amendment

The information the dealer exchanged with the undercover operatives is freely available on the Internet or available from books available on the Internet. If one has the least bit of mechanical aptitude the conversion of a fixed collapsible into it's original configuration is self evident. Maybe we could turn off the Internet to New York.

[bossy22]

11. thats not even the key point

the dealer blatantly said that doing this would be illegal. The dealer can not be responsble for what the individual does on their own