Stag Arms Pleads Guilty and Is Being Sold

[smustian]

http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc ... story.html



HARTFORD — New Britain-based Stag Arms LLC pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating federal firearms laws and as part of a plea agreement president and owner Mark Malkowski agreed to sell the company and have no further ownership or management role in a gun manufacturer.

Malkowski pleaded guilty on behalf of the company in federal court in Hartford to a felony count of possession of machine guns not registered to the company.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also revoking Stag's federal license to manufacture firearms, although the company can continue to produce firearms while it is pursuing a sale if ATF is satisfied with its efforts to find a new owner. The new owner would have to seek a new license.

Malkowski is scheduled to plead guilty Wednesday in federal court in New Haven to a misdemeanor charge of failure to maintain firearms records. For his guilty plea, Malkowski, 37, will pay a $100,000 fine and will not be permitted to own, operate or manage a firearms company.

The federal government began its investigation of Stag in July 2014, after a routine ATF compliance inspection turned up a variety of record- keeping violations, missing firearms and unregistered machine guns, the government said.
New Britain Gun Maker Stag Arms Under Investigation By ATF

The guilty plea, Stag said in a prepared statement, was in the best interest of the company and its approximately 100 employees. Malkowski is in advanced talks with a New York private equity firm to sell the company, Stag and the government said.

"For the first time in Connecticut, and there have only been a few of these prosecutions throughout the nation, a large manufacturer is pleading guilty to a felony charge relating to record-keeping violations," Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly said Tuesday.

The company will pay a fine of $500,000 as part of its plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for March 15.

"This company did not just manufacture small firearms. They manufactured semi-automatic weapons, machine guns, assault weapons," Daly said. "This is not an industry where sloppiness will be tolerated."

The government said about 200 firearms could not be accounted for at Stag's John Downey Drive facilities. "We don't know where they are, whether they were stolen, whether they're on the streets, or whether they're just in the wrong hands," Daly said.

The company pleaded guilty to possession of 62 machine guns and machine gun receivers that were registered to another entity or not registered at all. ATF agents found the automatic rifles and receivers at the New Britain factory during an inspection July 15, 2014.

Eleven machine guns were registered to an entity in the Philippines, one to a police department and 25 to another manufacturer. The remaining 25 machine gun receivers — the portion of the firearm that houses the operating parts and on which the serial number is engraved — did not have serial numbers, the government said.

Malkowski told U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez during the company's plea hearing that the machine guns in question were to be sold, but the sales agreement fell through. Stag Arms kept the weapons and failed to update records, he told the judge.

In 2007, ATF inspectors found instances of poor record-keeping, administrative violations and regulatory violations, but worked with Stag to bring it into compliance, said Nealy Earl, area head of industry operations for ATF.

The problems found during the 2014 compliance review at Stag Arms were similar or worse than those found in 2007, prompting the recommendation for criminal action, Earl said. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Dave Vatti described the new violations as "egregious and systemic."

Some of the firearms found at Stag also had obliterated serial numbers, a serious violation of the law, Vatti said. The government has not determined why the serial numbers were scratched out.

Stag, in a statement, said the company "takes its obligations to comply with all laws and regulations very seriously and has made comprehensive changes to ensure that similar problems cannot happen again and that best compliance practices are maintained in all of its operations." The company also said it does not believe public safety was ever compromised.

Malkowski founded Stag in 2003 and the soon company pioneered manufacturing AR-15 rifles for left-handed people and those who use their left eye to aim. The left-handed weapons remain an important product for the company. Stag Arms has sold its rifles to police agencies and militaries around the world, and to law enforcement agencies in the U.S. It also serves the civilian firearms market.

[Disregarded9-Side]

Sad to see, but I cannot blame the ATF for cracking down in this instance. Unaccounted for ARs are no bueno. Glad to hear the young owner is owning up to his responsibilities with his employees' best interests at heart.

[Bud White]

Why do i have a feeling it will not go well for them .. which is to bad love my stag lefty ar

[A-Game]

If you are missing guns...fine, loss of license
Recorde keeping violations...fine, warning or loss of license
Unregistered machine guns...uh hold on we need to call Darth Vader and the Emporer

It's stupid you have to register any personal property with any part of the government.

[Netpackrat]

Nobody deserves to get jacked up over unconstitutional laws.

[idaho.jon]

I can't help but wonder if this amount of negligence is more malice than incompetence. It is just hard for me to believe that that many mistakes could be made, when everyone involved is very aware of the seriousness.

[TreeTopFlier]

So they are saying that these (because they are unregistered) weapons are illegal...wouldn't it be more correct to say they are undocumented weapons?

In all seriousness, these guys got a license to produce firearms by agreeing to the laws of the land, good or bad. They loose track of SA and FA weapons in their custody. In this political climate, their carelessness does firearms manufacturers and the firearms community no favors.

[A-Game]

Here is what is happening at every other manufacturer.

Get rid of those Fking full auto lowers we made for our own personal enjoyment and leisure activities.

Change the records of all the misplaced lowers

And for heaven's sake get the number to Kevin Brittingham's lawyer!

[Mgoirea]

Stag probably got busted in the process of doing seriously illegal shit and is pleading guilty just to stop the investigation from going further. Nobody scratches out serial numbers for decent purposes. Somebody better check if Eric Holder owns stock in Stag Arms.