Posted on 02/01/2013 5:57:40 AM PST by rellimpank
. A bipartisan push intensified Thursday for answers from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about a flawed storefront sting in Milwaukee.
A Journal Sentinel investigation this week exposed a 10-month federal operation marred by a series of mistakes and failures, including an agent's machine gun being stolen and burglars ripping off $35,000 in merchandise from the agency's phony store. Milwaukee police and ATF are still looking for that stolen machine gun, officials said Thursday.
"Suffice to say, ATF and the police department both have a keen interest in trying to get that firearm back," said Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn.
Mayor Tom Barrett joined the call for an investigation and two letters were sent to the ATF's acting director, one from a group of powerful lawmakers and another from U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
The seven-page letter by four leading members of Congress called the flawed sting "disturbing" and asked acting director B. Todd Jones for written answers to more than two dozen questions related to the operation, dubbed "Fearless Distributing."
As a result of the sting, about 30 people were charged in federal and state court, most with low-level drug and gun counts. In at least three cases, the newspaper found, agents recommended charges against the wrong person, including a man who was in prison on a previous ATF case at the time he was accused of selling them drugs. The operation seized 145 guns.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
According to the rest of the story, the criminals knew it was too good to be true, but the momey was so good, they could not resist.
Ding ding ding - sure sounds like an Operation Homeland Furious.
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.