Lethal Passage (39 page)

2
“There’s been …” Jack Killorin, interview.

3
“Illegal traffickers …” “A Study of Weapons Seized in Connection with Narcotics Investigations,” ATF Detroit Division, 1992, 13.

4
“If it were not …” Ibid., 13.

5
It must police … Anthony Fleming, interview.

6
This ratio … Robert Sherrill,
The Saturday Night Special
(New York: Charterhouse, 1973), 143.

7
In 1990 … Firearms Program License Application Data, ATF.

8
Roughly half … Anthony Fleming, interview.

9
My ATF printout … Printout of Maryland Federal Firearms Licensees. ATF, May 12, 1992.

10
A Los Angeles Times … Los Angeles Times
, May 18, 1992, A1.

11
Any consumer who … Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 178: Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition, Section 178.128 b and c.

12
ATF traces its … “Facts,” ATF.

13
On January 16 … Robert T. Schoenberg,
Mr. Capone
(New York: William Morrow, 1992), 56–57.

14
What ATF neglects … Ibid., 58.

15
Eliot Ness urged … Ibid., 252.

16
Indeed, Schoenberg … Ibid., 297.

17
The real hero … Ibid., 298.

18
By the fall … Ibid., 139.

19
In 1969 … William J. Helmer,
The Gun That Made the Twenties Roar
(New York: Macmillan, 1969).

20
The Thompson … John Ellis,
The Social History of the Machine Gun
(Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975), 149–51.

21
In a 1922 magazine ad … Auto-Ordnance Corp., advertisement, 1922; Ellis,
Social History
, 151.

22
An article … Ellis,
Social History
, 77.

23
In 1923 … Ibid., 79.

24
The first recorded … Schoenberg,
Capone
, 139.

25
That day … Helmer,
Gun That Made
, 84.

26
Capone first … Ibid., 84–85.

27
One of the dead … Ibid., 85; Schoenberg,
Capone
, 150.

28
The attack triggered … Helmer,
Gun That Made
, 87.

29
The Thompson submachine … Ibid., 88.

30
On February 14 … Ibid., 88.

31
As other massacres … Ibid., 100.

32
You’ve read
 … Ibid., 111.

33
One result … Ellis,
Social History
, 160.

34
On October 14 … Schoenberg,
Capone
, 322.

35
A more significant … “Facts,” BATF.; Sherrill,
Saturday Night
, 58; “BATF: Management Improvements Needed to Handle Increasing Responsibilities,” GAO, March 1991, 10.

36
In 1938, Congress … GAO, Ibid., 10.

37
It boosted … Ibid., 11; Sherrill,
Saturday Night
, 295.

38
“When our law-enforcement …” Rex Davis, former director, BATF, interview.

39
In 1968 the NRA’s … Osha Gray Davidson,
Under Fire: The NRA & The Battle for Gun Control
(New York: Henry Holt, 1993), 30.

40
Gradually, the hard-liners … Ibid., 31–41.

41
“To the NRA faithful …” Ibid., 31.

42
“That was a well-known …” Rex Davis, interview.

43
In March of 1978 … G. R. Dickerson, director, BATF, testimony. Firearms Enforcement Efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms hearing, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, July 2, 1980, 69.

44
“We didn’t feel …” Rex Davis, interview.

45
It cited … G. R. Dickerson, director, BATF, testimony, Firearms hearing, 70–71.

46
The NRA, however … Rex Davis, interview.

47
Davis, delighted … Rex Davis, interview.

48
The NRA went so far … Davidson,
Under Fire
, 50; Representative John D. Dingell, testimony. Proposed Dissolution of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms special hearing, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, February 23, 1982, 245–46.

49
“We often hear …” G. R. Dickerson, director, BATF, testimony, Firearms hearing, 72.

50
At the same hearing … Firearms Enforcement Efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms hearing, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, July 2, 1980, 139–50.

51
That month … Davidson,
Under Fire
, 50.

52
At a February … Representative John D. Dingell, testimony, Dissolution hearing, 245–47, 249, 252.

53
The Gun Owners … Lawrence D. Pratt, testimony. Proposed Dissolution of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms special hearing, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, February 22, 1982, 146.

54
Neal Knox, head … Neal Knox, testimony. Proposed Dissolution of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms special hearing, Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, March 8, 1982, 324.

55
The NRA’s turnabout … Representative William J. Hughes, testimony. Enforcement Efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms hearing, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, May 4, 1982, 2.

56
“The NRA realized …” Davidson,
Under Fire
, 52.

57
“Some of the things …” Bernard La Forest, BATF, interview.

58
The bill banned … “Congress Relaxes Federal Gun Control Laws,”
Congressional Quarterly Almanac
(1986): 82–85.

59
Before the act … Ibid., 84.

60
Representative Hughes said … Ibid., 84.

61
“I don’t know …” Rex Davis, interview.

62
From 1988 … “Firearms and Explosives: Information and Observations on ATF Law Enforcement Operations,” GAO, June 1993, 44–45.

63
“These are safe …” Rex Davis, interview.

64
From 1975 through … “Firearms Program License Application Data,” BATF, 1975–1990.

65
In 1990, for example … “Firearms Program Inspection Activity,” BATF, 1990.

66
But revocation can be … Al’s Loan Office vs. U.S. Dept. of Treasury, 738 F. Supp. 221 (E.D. Mich. 1990), May 7, 1990.

67
In fiscal 1991 … “Cases in Select Categories: Firearms Enforcement,” BATF, fiscal year 1991.

68
On July 1, 1989 … Special Agent Edward Wetterman, affidavit. U.S. vs. Carroll Landis Brown, U.S. District Court, Baltimore. Case: HM-91–0010, 2.

69
He advertised … Ibid., 5.

70
Beginning September 20 … Ibid., 4.

71
On November 16 … Ibid., 4.

72
On December 10 … Ibid., 6.

73
As of January 1991 … “Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s ‘Notice of Appeal.’ ” U.S. vs. Carroll Landis Brown, U.S. District Court, Baltimore. Case: HM-91–0010, 3–4.

74
Hunt and an associate … 
Baltimore Sun
, December 29, 1991, 1D.

75
“Dear Judge …” Mykia Brown, letter (undated). U.S. vs. Carroll Landis Brown, U.S. District Court, Baltimore. Case: HM-91–0010.

76
Rev. James Ross … Rev. James Ross, letter, May 30, 1991. U.S. vs. Carroll Landis Brown, U.S. District Court, Baltimore. Case: HM-91–0010.

77
Soon after … M. Dion Thompson, “A Gun Dealer’s Legacy.”

78
Among the guns … List of distributors and guns. U.S. vs. Carroll Landis Brown. U.S. District Court, Baltimore. Case: HM-91–0010.

79
The remainder … Project Detroit, BATF, Detroit, April 19, 1991, 2.

80
In its report … Ibid., 7.

81
Yet of the five … Ibid., 12; Special Agent in Charge Bernard La Forest, interview.

82
Project Detroit also … Bernard La Forest, interview.

83
“We’re not in …” Ken Jorgensen, interview.

84
“The wholesalers thought …” Bernard La Forest, interview.

85
“What would the results …” Project Detroit, BATF, Detroit, April 19, 1991, 7.

86
Early in 1989, two … Cox Newspapers, “Firepower: Assault Weapons in America,” 1989.

87
ATF wasn’t able … Gerald A. Nunziato, Special Agent in Charge, National Tracing Center, BATF, interview.

88
In fiscal 1990 … 
Los Angeles Times
, May 20, 1992, A1.

89
“If they’ve got …” Bernard La Forest, interview.

90
Raymond Rowley, an agent … Special Agent Raymond Rowley, interview.

91
The ATF’s Urgent trace … G. R. Dickerson, testimony. Dismantling of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms hearing, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, April 30, 1981, 34.

92
But Stokes eventually … Thomas W. Stokes, interview.

93
“We’re always looking for …” Raymond Rowley, interview.

94
“We don’t make …” David Troy, interview.

Chapter Eleven: Nicholas

1
Forensic investigators … Det. Donald Adams, interview.

2
Cutter was splayed … (Billy Cutter), testimony. VA-NE, February 28, 1989, 94.

3
“It looked …” Ibid., 87.

4
“I was probably …” Maurice H. Matteson, testimony. VA-NE, February 28, 1989, 123.

5
“I don’t have the gun …” Ibid., 124.

6
“What in the world …” Ibid., 131.

7
Rev. George Sweet … Rev. George Sweet, interview; George Sweet, testimony. WF-SE, January 14, 1992.

8
“He looked at me …” Ibid.

9
“I was like wondering …” Lora Sweet, testimony. WF-SE, January 14, 1992, 7.

Chapter Twelve: The Culture

1
He did not carry … Det. Donald Adams, interview; Det. Donald Adams, testimony. WF-SE, January 14, 1992.

2
“A gun enthusiast …” Det. Donald Adams, interview.

3
He carried hundreds … Ibid.; Det. Donald Adams, testimony. WF-SE, January 14, 1992.

4
“He could hold …” Det. Donald Adams, interview.

5
He filed a groove … Ibid.

6
The fact his mother … Ibid.

7
Hundreds “were …” Robert Sherrill,
The Saturday Night Special
(New York: Charterhouse, 1973), 165.

8
“I didn’t sell …” James S. Dick, deposition. WF-SE, July 16, 1990, 43.

9
“I’m kind of flattered …”
New York Times
, March 10, 1992, 1.

10
Intratec was so … 
Los Angeles Times
, July 7, 1993, 3.

11
“Everything was by …”
Los Angeles Times
, July 3, 1993, 1.

12
Only one of … Osha Gray Davidson,
Under Fire
, 171–72.

13
“The object of …” John Minnery,
Kill Without Joy: The Complete How to Kill Book
(Boulder, Colo.: Paladin Press, 1992), preface.

14
“I prefer to make …” Peder Lund, interview.

15
Once a week … Michael Hoy, interview.

16
Joseph Grubisic, commander … Joseph Grubisic, interview.

17
A few years ago … Confidential interview, BATF.

18
Some’published recipes … Sgt. LeRoy Pereira, U.C. Berkeley Bomb Squad, interview; Lt. Walter Boser, commander, New York Police Bomb Squad, interview; Peder Lund, interview.

19
(“It’s kind of like …” Charles Rose, interview.

20
“They’re wrong …” Peder Lund, interview.

21
Most of his customers … Billy Blann, interview.

22
In August 1992 … Jack Killorin, spokesman, BATF, interview; Charles T. Ziegler, police chief, Athens, Tennessee, interview; Ptl. Don Long, Athens police, interview.