10-14-2015, 01:20 PM
(10-14-2015, 11:13 AM)Benton Wrote: I'll be surprised if it's not overturned during an appeal. Without proof the store knew the sale was for someone else, they should not be held liable.
On the other hand, if it's correct that four years prior "537 guns recovered from crimes were traced back to Badger Guns" then someone should have been checking into the place more.
The number of 537 does raise alarm but I was unsure if it warranted it, as we did not know the number of years the business has existed or the total number of guns sold in it's existence.
However, I found an old article and it appears that Badger Guns was consistently involved in questionable actions.
The business had been open for 22 years and the brother to the original owner took over (2012), gaining a newly issued license.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/badger-guns-owners-brother-ready-to-reopen-store-a762f78-161849845.html
Quote:Badger Guns' owner's brother ready to take over store
License revoked last year after store tied to crime guns
By John Diedrich of the Journal Sentinel
July 9, 2012
The new owner of a West Milwaukee gun shop closely scrutinized because of its high number of crime gun sales, including weapons used to wound police officers, has received a fresh federal firearms license and plans to resume selling guns soon.
The owner, Mike Allan, is the brother of Adam Allan, the previous owner of Badger Guns, whose license was revoked in 2011 for breaking federal law.
Mike Allan, who used to work for his brother, said Monday that he received approval to sell guns from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in May and would start selling in a couple of weeks.
Mike Allan said he plans to make the store, now called Brew City Shooter's Supply, more selective by requiring anyone who wants to buy a gun to become a store member. To become a member, customers must demonstrate knowledge of firearms and shooting proficiency, Allan said. If they cannot, they must take a class to buy a gun, he said.
Allan said he hopes that will keep away straw buyers, people who buy guns for people not legally allowed to have them. Badger Guns was a popular choice among straw buyers, according to cases filed in federal court.
"I would like to be a shooting club that sells guns to its members," Allan said. "We want gun enthusiasts in here."
Badger Guns and its predecessor, Badger Outdoors, were top sellers of crime guns recovered by Milwaukee police for more than a decade, according to police data obtained by the Journal Sentinel. Over two years, six Milwaukee police officers were wounded with guns sold by Badger Guns or Badger Outdoors. Four of those officers have sued the store and its owners in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The cases are pending.
Badger Guns closed Dec. 31, under an agreement with ATF. A spokesman from ATF said he could not comment.
Brew City opened in January, running a shooting range and selling ammunition, neither of which requires a federal license.
Mike Allan, who worked for his brother as a sales clerk, said his brother and his father will not be involved in the operation of Brew City. His father, Walter Allan, and Mick Beatovic were the original owners of the store, previously known as Badger Outdoors. Walter Allan and Beatovic remain landlords of the building on S. 43rd St.
A Journal Sentinel investigation found that the ATF rarely revokes gun dealer licenses and the process can drag on in the courts for years. The ATF typically wins such cases, but stores can easily beat the agency's harshest action by having a relative, friend or employee pull a fresh license, the newspaper found. The move wipes away the earlier violations.
The newspaper found more than 50 cases across the country, including in Wisconsin, in which the person whose license was revoked remains close to the gun-selling operation. ATF officials said they are aware of the loophole, coined "phoenix from the ashes," but they need firm proof to deny a license. Congress has limited ATF's authority to gather such evidence.
After two Milwaukee officers were shot with a gun sold by Badger Guns a month earlier, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn publicly blasted the store's owner, accusing him of doing little to prevent straw sales. A sting by Milwaukee police revealed felons going to the store and using the range to practice shooting.
Two nearby gun stores said they have seen an uptick in business since Badger Guns stopped selling guns. Kevin Nugent, owner of the Shooters Shop on S. 84th St. in West Allis, said he noticed an increase in suspicious buyers, including some smelling of alcohol or marijuana. He said he kicked them out of his store.
Nugent does not buy the argument that Badger Guns had a high number of crime gun traces because it was close to Milwaukee's high crime areas. Nugent noted that he is only a few miles from Badger Guns but has not had the same number of crime gun traces.
"They say, 'It is an inner city thing.' No, it's the way you run your business thing," he said.
At Shorty's Shooting Sports on S. 60th St. in West Allis, owner Michael Govas said he takes precautions to prevent straw sales and by not stocking cheap guns favored by gang members. In 18 months in business, Govas said, he has had few gun trace requests from ATF.
The public is not allowed to see gun ATF trace information under special rules imposed on the agency by Congress. Those rules also sharply limit ATF release of information about gun store operations.
The West Milwaukee gun store once known as Badger Outdoors has a history of violations.
In 2006, ATF investigators recommended the rare step of revoking Badger Outdoors' license, but there was no revocation. That license was surrendered, and co-owner Mick Beatovic retired.
The other owner, Walter Allan, went to work for his son, Adam Allan, who pulled a new license and changed the name to Badger Guns. Beatovic moved to Arizona but remains landlord of the store.
The changes made in 2006 created what one ATF official called a "clean slate," erasing violations found by federal regulators over 17 years at Badger Outdoors, which had been the top seller of crime guns not just in Milwaukee but also in the nation in 2005 with 537 such guns, according to ATF records.
In 2007, the ATF found multiple violations at Badger Guns and issued a warning letter. It said further violations could result in revocation - the most serious civil action the ATF can take against a dealer. The ATF found Adam Allan had failed to complete federally required sales records and at least 10 times had sold a gun to people who had said they were not legally able to buy one, according to ATF records obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
In 2009, ATF inspectors were back at Badger Guns and found several of the same violations, including failing to complete federally required paperwork on gun sales and failure to keep accurate inventory records - two areas considered crucial for tracking guns and allowing the agency to quickly trace guns used in crimes. There also were violations related to making prohibited sales, background checks, out-of-state gun sales and failure to report multiple sales of handguns, according to ATF documents.
ATF revoked Badger Guns' license, but under special rules passed by Congress protecting revoked gun dealers, Badger Guns was allowed to sell firearms during the appeal, which lasted more than a year.
