It has recently been announced that the SWAT unit of the LAPD is under investigation by an independent watchdog. They have stated that there are serious concerns regarding whether members of the SWAT unit may have used their position to acquire specially-made weapons in order to sell them at a profit. This is not a recent occurrence, however, with the first suspicions being raised in 2010. It began when an inventory was ordered of all of the division’s weapons. The officer who was in charge of this inventory discovered that up to 324 pistols had been ordered from Kimber, a gun manufacturer, and resold for what is thought to be extremely high profits.
The guns were sold to members of the 60 person SWAT unit for $600 each. Due to their occupation, they were given an almost $3,000 discount. The first investigation into this case was said to be completed hastily and not well done. This could be part of the reason why the current investigation is still ongoing. There would not have been anything wrong with the conduct of the SWAT unit had they been purchasing the weapons for personal use. It was because they may have been purchasing the weapons with the intention of immediately selling them to a third party which could violate federal firearm law and city ethics regulations. Click here to read more about this story.
Our team at Martinian & Associates has experience in handling federal offenses. We are able to take on cases ranging from federal firearm violations, money laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud, conspiracy, and more. If you have been accused of this type of offense or are under investigation, you should contact our team as soon as possible. By telling us about your case, you could learn exactly how we could help you.
