Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com ATF agents who were conducting a sting operation in Milwaukee last summer allowed a felon with a violent history to leave a store without taking him into custody or tracking him, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Bobby Ball, who is a felon with a history of violence, never returned to the store…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Twenty-year veteran Essam Rabadi became the new special agent in charge this month, Philly.com reports. Rabadi, a native of Yonkers, N.Y., became an ATF special agent in 1992, three years after he started off as a local police officer, Philly.com reported. Rabadi supervised the Philadelphia division’s drug-trafficking task force from 2000 to…
Reno Gazette-Journal Editorial It is an article of faith among many opponents of additional restrictions on gun ownership that the U.S. “doesn’t need new gun laws; it only needs to enforce the ones we’ve already have.” For the past year, the difficulties of enforcing the nation’s gun laws have been on full display in the…
By Allan Lengel Deadline Detroit DETROIT — Detroit cop Patrick Hill — part of an ATF violent crime task force — was critically wounded in a shootout with a murder suspect about four weeks ago on Detroit’s west side. On Saturday night, while he remained hospitalized in critical condition, suffering from head wounds, his fellow…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The ATF gets its share of criticism from Congress and the National Rifle Association. But the agency still plays a vital role in solving crimes like the Boston Marathon Bombing, the Washington Post reports. In the past two weeks, ATF agents investigated the Boston Marathon bombings and the fertilized plant…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A fed judge in D.C. appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit centering on the poorly thought out ATF operation known as Fast and Furious, according to the Associated Press. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has filed a lawsuit seeking records related to the operation….
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com An independent watchdog group for the Justice Department is investigating claims that President Obama’s nominee to head the ATF retaliated against a whistleblower, the Roll Call reports. B. Todd Jones is accused of suspending an employee in retaliation for lodging a complaint. Carolyn N. Lerner, the head of the Office of…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The ATF has failed to inspect 58% of licensed gun dealers every five years because of understaffing and other obligations, the Houston Chronicle reports. The Justice Department’s inspector general examined data from 2007 to 2012. The report also criticized the ATF’s failure to track its industry operations investigators. Most of the blame…
