Target of gun sting: ATF is ‘scaring people out of the shows’
By LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Published 09:37 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A day after news that a grand jury has indicted him and three others accused of illegal gun dealing, one man targeted claims the federal probe is a shot against Western Washington gun shows.
Belfair resident Mark Skiles was among the four men indicted late last week on charges of unlawful gun dealing. Two of the men were also accused of other more serious gun crimes.
Federal prosecutors contend Skiles, 46, and the others were essentially professional gun dealers who sold hundreds of firearms without obtaining a Federal Firearms License. Such licenses are issued to those who buy guns in order to resell them, rather than collect them.
Speaking Tuesday, Skiles described himself as a hobbyist and disputed claims made by prosecutors that he sold guns to undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents.
“I did it as a hobby,” Skiles said. “I never did it as a business.”
“There’s no law or regulation telling me how many guns I can buy, how many guns I can sell or where and when I can sell them,” he continued. “This is their way of scaring people out of the shows.”
Federal prosecutors contend Skiles and the other men were observed by undercover ATF agents at several gun shows selling large numbers of guns.
According to court documents filed in the case, the men were selling the guns under a provision in federal gun law allowing “private sellers” to sell their guns without submitting sales paperwork to the ATF. Anyone “engaging in the business” of firearms sales is required to obtain a Federal Firearms License.
“It became obvious that many of these private sellers were in the business of selling firearms and not simply selling guns from their private collection,” an ATF special agent told the court.
In court documents, the ATF agent contended Skiles told an undercover agent at a May 2010 gun show in Puyallup that he buys used guns from a licensed dealer and resells them at gun shows.
Undercover agents contacted Skiles at several shows, dealing guns alongside his “an apparent business associate,” Kenneth Gussoni. Gussoni, 55, has been indicted on possession of an illegal silencer and a firearm with an obliterated serial number, as well as unlawful gun dealing.
During an Aug. 7 gun show, an undercover agent stood by as the Skiles took a call on his cell phone, the ATF agent told the court. According to the search warrant affidavit, Skiles hung up and said he'd just received a call from the Lakewood police saying they'd recovered a gun he'd sold.
An ATF agent later confirmed that the gun's owner was a convicted felon and domestic violence assault suspect. Investigators also believe the Bremerton man sold a gun to a man who was shot by police while armed in January.
Speaking by phone, Skiles said he bought guns in need of repair that he then resold at gun shows. He said he sells at shows where the sponsoring club performs the same background checks required of Federal Firearms License holders.
Contradicting the ATF agent’s claim that he sold a gun to a convicted felon, Skiles asserted he never sold a gun to anyone who could not legally own one.
“I can guarantee with 99 percent certainty that I never sold a gun to an agent or anyone who was not capable of possessing a firearm,” Skiles said.
Skiles also faulted federal prosecutors for claiming they’d seized two .30 caliber machine guns in a search of his former home. The guns, he said, were actually guns parts, were not operable and are allowed by law.
In a press statement issued Monday, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle described the sales conducted by Skiles and the other men as going beyond the activities allowed under law.
“In the instances described in the indictment and other court documents, the guns were held by the seller for a very brief period of time – days or weeks – and then were sold at gun shows,” the spokeswoman said. “The guns never became part of any ‘collection.’
“By claiming they were only participating in ‘private party’ sales, these sellers avoided filing paperwork related to the gun sales.”
Click the following link for Monday’s report on the ATF action against the gun-show sellers.
The defendants are expected to appear on May 9 for arraignment in U.S. District Court at Tacoma. None are currently jailed.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Target-of-gun-sting-ATF-is-scaring-people-of-1364167.php
Belfair resident Mark Skiles was among the four men indicted late last week on charges of unlawful gun dealing. Two of the men were also accused of other more serious gun crimes.
Federal prosecutors contend Skiles, 46, and the others were essentially professional gun dealers who sold hundreds of firearms without obtaining a Federal Firearms License. Such licenses are issued to those who buy guns in order to resell them, rather than collect them.
Speaking Tuesday, Skiles described himself as a hobbyist and disputed claims made by prosecutors that he sold guns to undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents.
“I did it as a hobby,” Skiles said. “I never did it as a business.”
“There’s no law or regulation telling me how many guns I can buy, how many guns I can sell or where and when I can sell them,” he continued. “This is their way of scaring people out of the shows.”
Federal prosecutors contend Skiles and the other men were observed by undercover ATF agents at several gun shows selling large numbers of guns.
According to court documents filed in the case, the men were selling the guns under a provision in federal gun law allowing “private sellers” to sell their guns without submitting sales paperwork to the ATF. Anyone “engaging in the business” of firearms sales is required to obtain a Federal Firearms License.
“It became obvious that many of these private sellers were in the business of selling firearms and not simply selling guns from their private collection,” an ATF special agent told the court.
In court documents, the ATF agent contended Skiles told an undercover agent at a May 2010 gun show in Puyallup that he buys used guns from a licensed dealer and resells them at gun shows.
Undercover agents contacted Skiles at several shows, dealing guns alongside his “an apparent business associate,” Kenneth Gussoni. Gussoni, 55, has been indicted on possession of an illegal silencer and a firearm with an obliterated serial number, as well as unlawful gun dealing.
During an Aug. 7 gun show, an undercover agent stood by as the Skiles took a call on his cell phone, the ATF agent told the court. According to the search warrant affidavit, Skiles hung up and said he'd just received a call from the Lakewood police saying they'd recovered a gun he'd sold.
An ATF agent later confirmed that the gun's owner was a convicted felon and domestic violence assault suspect. Investigators also believe the Bremerton man sold a gun to a man who was shot by police while armed in January.
Speaking by phone, Skiles said he bought guns in need of repair that he then resold at gun shows. He said he sells at shows where the sponsoring club performs the same background checks required of Federal Firearms License holders.
Contradicting the ATF agent’s claim that he sold a gun to a convicted felon, Skiles asserted he never sold a gun to anyone who could not legally own one.
“I can guarantee with 99 percent certainty that I never sold a gun to an agent or anyone who was not capable of possessing a firearm,” Skiles said.
Skiles also faulted federal prosecutors for claiming they’d seized two .30 caliber machine guns in a search of his former home. The guns, he said, were actually guns parts, were not operable and are allowed by law.
In a press statement issued Monday, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle described the sales conducted by Skiles and the other men as going beyond the activities allowed under law.
“In the instances described in the indictment and other court documents, the guns were held by the seller for a very brief period of time – days or weeks – and then were sold at gun shows,” the spokeswoman said. “The guns never became part of any ‘collection.’
“By claiming they were only participating in ‘private party’ sales, these sellers avoided filing paperwork related to the gun sales.”
Click the following link for Monday’s report on the ATF action against the gun-show sellers.
The defendants are expected to appear on May 9 for arraignment in U.S. District Court at Tacoma. None are currently jailed.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Target-of-gun-sting-ATF-is-scaring-people-of-1364167.php
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