Posted on 01/29/2013 8:47:28 PM PST by Daus
A store calling itself Fearless Distributing opened early last year on an out-of-the-way street in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, offering designer clothes, athletic shoes, jewelry and drug paraphernalia.
Those working behind the counter, however, weren't interested in selling anything.
They were undercover agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives running a storefront sting aimed at busting criminal operations in the city by purchasing drugs and guns from felons.
But the effort to date has not snared any major dealers or taken down a gang. Instead, it resulted in a string of mistakes and failures, including an ATF military-style machine gun landing on the streets of Milwaukee and the agency having $35,000 in merchandise stolen from its store, a Journal Sentinel investigation has found.
When the 10-month operation was shut down after the burglary, agents and Milwaukee police officers who participated in the sting cleared out the store but left behind a sensitive document that listed names, vehicles and phone numbers of undercover agents.
And the agency remains locked in a battle with the building's owner, who says he is owed about $15,000 because of utility bills, holes in the walls, broken doors and damage from an overflowing toilet.
The sting resulted in charges being filed against about 30 people, most for low-level drug sales and gun possession counts. But agents had the wrong person in at least three cases. In one, they charged a man who was in prison - as a result of an earlier ATF case - at the time agents said he was selling drugs to them.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Big government is not better government. The head of ICE, the federal immigration agency, ignores the laws on the books and directs agents to ease up & ignore illegals in plain sight for the last few years. Now we in Milwaukee find out ATF sets up a fake store where federal agents flash money around and beg the customers to sell the agents guns & drugs.
Some customers bite when the offered price is higher than retail, so they go to Gander, do the required paperwork and sell the recently bought gun to the fake store clerks. Other customers sell minimal amounts of drugs as the price paid is similarly way high. The ATF isn’t stopping crime, it is manufacturing it. But the ATF has a track record of nasty business.
Down by the border ATF pushed crooks to do straw gun buys and run the guns down to Mexican drug gangs. The ATF lost track of the guns which were then used to kill Mexican citizens and at least one US Border Agent.
Now Obama does speeches to tell illegals and we Americans our borders are open AND tells we honest citizens the guns we have in our gun safes are the cause of gun violence.
Is this crazy or what?
So now there’s a stolen automatic assault rifle in the hands of criminals. Good job, BATFE. Keep up the good work and we’ll add another letter to your acronym.
www.OathKeepers.org
www.OathKeepers.org
But folks are supposed to trust and love their government...
How about just “F Troop”
ATF flubs sting in Mlwaukee — releases names and addresses of undercover agents
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Shades of Tom Coleman.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.