John Rosenthal Admits to Violating Federal Gun Law

Drgrant,

In a case like this possession means squat, as the act alone is a felony.

Have fun proving that, unless one of the participants in the little conspiracy
decides to lay it all out to the authorities. Otherwise all you have for
material evidence is a guy whose name is on a 4473 and a gun in his hands,
and a bucket full of hearsay, not exactly very compelling evidence of a straw,
or even an attempt to do so.

Again as far as slam dunk, WRKO appears to record Finneran's Forum because they have audio archives for it. Can't beat the 'defendant' admitting he did the crime over the air.

It's still not an admission under oath or any other kind of
official mechanism (eg, like him perjuring himself during questioning by
authorities) and he could just say he was telling a lie/spinning a yarn for the
purposes of embellishing his political crap. The guy lies all the time as a
matter of course, how would this be any different?

I have to admit, that even if the charges don't stick, just rosenthal being
fully exposed to the public as a liar and a fraud that he is,would be pretty
worthwhile endeavor. (although in MA the antis would still probably
worship him, so it's probably not a big deal to him... )

With a lot of commotion in the Northeast about Gun Trafficking it may prove to our advantage in that the USDA or ADA will see it as a 'we take firearms laws seriously and no one is above them' deal.

I agree, but if they haven't taken action on bloomberg or his cronies,
(whose actions were far more blatant and egregious, and have made multiple
violations) what makes you think they'll do anything to these guys? Months
have gone by since those infractions were committed, and nothing more
than minor noises have come from the DOJ about prosecuting these
guys. (If there is a movement to do so, someone please enlighten
me... I haven't seen anything yet... )

But if we sit on our collective asses as gun owners and let it happen, we are truly in a sorry state of being and should just give up our right to own a firearm because we already have the defeatist attitude.

I'm not being a defeatist, I'm just being a realist. The harsh reality is
that enforcement is very inconsistent when it comes to federal gun crimes,
especially when it concerns people like rosenthal and other "beautiful
people" types. IMO sending letters out, etc, is a good thing, and it isn't
entirely a waste of time... Even if the ATF just pings him, it will be
worthwhile. I'm just pessimistic in the sense that any serious charges
will ever come out of it, if history is any indicator. The federal justice
system tends to slant towards being inconsistent WRT this kind of thing. It
seems like most of the time, on one hand they're prosecuting egregious
violators (violent criminals) and then on the other hand they're beating up
on soft targets of opportunity, like randy weaver, that cop in AZ (who
actually didn't commit a crime) and numerous other people. I guess I just
have a very limited amount of faith in the federal government to prosecute
gun crimes in a fair and consistent manner.

I'll hand out some cigars and buy a round of drinks for a bunch of us if I'm
wrong. I'm not holding my breath though. IMO the probability of rosenthal
seeing the inside of a jail cell is right up there with MA forcing
the chiefs to give up discretionary licensing powers.

-Mike
 
Anyone think this attempt should be sufficient to have his LTC revoked?

If the GOAL article is factual, this was not an attempt. The act was committed. All 3 should be prosecuted, Rosenthal should lose his LTC and the prison guard should lose his job. The responsible people at the Globe should also be held criminally accountable.
Did they only buy 1? Has Rosenthal done this before and sold them on the street?

There is no difference between what these Bozos did and what gang bangers do when they get a family member in another state to do the same thing.
 
Instead of prosecution...

...why can't his CLEO revoke his license, for being "unsuitable?" I would be less surprised by far less reason to do so than bragging on air about attempting to commit a felony. Where does this clown live? Can someone alert his chief? Perhaps we can use their own weaponry against them, and wouldn't that make an interesting story?

Update: Apologies to OnTheRoad - didn't see your post before I posted mine; you were obviously the originator of the idea.
 
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...why can't his CLEO revoke his license, for being "unsuitable?" I would be less surprised by far less reason to do so than bragging on air about attempting to commit a felony. Where does this clown live? Can someone alert his chief? Perhaps we can use their own weaponry against them, and wouldn't that make an interesting story?

I wonder if rosenthal even has an LTC..... I got the impression he was one
of those "trap on sundays" large type a**h***s that only has an FID... and I
don't know if an FID can be revoked via the "unsuitable person" pet trick
or not, although I did hear of one case locally where a kid lost his FID
because he left a shotgun on the back of his car and it fell off and was lost.
I think the chief basically railroaded him on that one... eg, surrender your
FID or we'll charge you with a safe storage violation" or some crap.

-Mike
 
...why can't his CLEO revoke his license, for being "unsuitable?" I would be less surprised by far less reason to do so than bragging on air about attempting to commit a felony. Where does this clown live? Can someone alert his chief? Perhaps we can use their own weaponry against them, and wouldn't that make an interesting story?

His CLEO could revoke his license if he felt like it, but I suspect that he's just another gun control freak who wouldn't want to hurt John's reputation as a sensible gun owner who supports "reasonable safety measures", e.g., requiring the explicit permission of one's local CLEO before purchasing, selling, possessing or using any firearm or ammunition. [rolleyes] [rolleyes] [rolleyes] [rolleyes] [rolleyes]

Ken
 
Rosenthal lives in Newton... a very difficult town to get an LTC A ALP in. Not necessarily a problem for him but he has a friendly CLEO on the anti side.
 
He also only has ever said to have owned a shotgun (except for the illegal straw purchase that is) so all he'd need is an FID which has no LEO say in issuance.

Of course, if all he does have is an FID, then he violated MA law in trying to purchase a handgun.

Regardless, he's a "Protected Class" and will never face any charges
 
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF....

Did anyone on this forum actually HEAR..listen to...this broadcast?
If so, I need to speak with you pronto.

Please contact me off list ASAP at [email protected]

...but only if you actually listened to the broadcast in question, on Tuesday July 10 on the Finneran show.

I'm the senior editor of GUN WEEK.
 
Straw purchase.

Rosenthal lives in Newton... a very difficult town to get an LTC A ALP in. Not necessarily a problem for him but he has a friendly CLEO on the anti side.
**********
Rosenthal has friends in high places. Coupe Deval, Mumbles, The Globe. You all should know Liberals in this state can get away w/murder(Kennedy) and lying because they are trying to protect the public.
If officials investigated him I`m sure he would lie and said he made the story up to illustrate his crusade. POS!
 
**********
Rosenthal has friends in high places. Coupe Deval, Mumbles, The Globe. You all should know Liberals in this state can get away w/murder(Kennedy) and lying because they are trying to protect the public.
If officials investigated him I`m sure he would lie and said he made the story up to illustrate his crusade. POS!

Thanks very much for the cautionary note, but I really don't care if Rosenthal has friends.

And, if he ultimately says he made up the story, he becomes a self-confessed liar who lied to advance an agenda.

That's an advantage of not being from, or in, Massachusetts; I don't play that kind of game.

If anyone heard this segment on Finneran's morning broadcast Tuesday, again, please contact me at: [email protected]

LenS: Thx for making this a sticky.
 
A bit more info...

It would appear that this is the 'straw purchase' that Rosenthal is referring to. Note the typical anti-gun drool to be expected from the Globe [rolleyes]...

Live free and die

By Steve Bailey, Globe Columnist | November 30, 2005

WEST LEBANON, N.H. -- In the manic environment of the first shopping weekend after Thanksgiving, the competition was fierce. We hesitated and lost out on a lovely, slightly used grenade launcher, bargain priced in tax-free New Hampshire at $190.

Not to worry. The dozens of dealers at the Fireside Inn gun show came well armed. Andrew Heggie, a Randolph police officer, spotted a Bushmaster, similar to the rifle he carried in two tours of duty in Afghanistan. And he found an AK-47, the same gun the enemy carried. There were military sniper rifles and an M-16-type ''machine pistol" capable of firing off 100 rounds before reloading -- the kind of gun only an angry high school student could love. Saturday night specials were cheap and plentiful.

In the end, we settled on a .38-caliber revolver, a trashy little thing popular with thugs in cities like Boston. Made by Connecticut's Charter 2000 Inc. in New England's ''Gun Valley," the revolver retails for $349, but my fellow New Hampshire shopper, Walter Belair, picked it up, cash and carry, for just $240. It took Belair, a former prison guard, less than 20 minutes to fill out the federal forms and get approved over the phone. It took me longer to buy a refrigerator at Sears a few weeks ago.

But this is New Hampshire, the ''Live Free or Die" state, where no gun license is required, and there is no limit on what a resident can buy.

''I can buy all the guns I want," Belair says. And he could sell his new .38 down the street, too, no questions asked.

Massachusetts has the toughest gun laws in the nation, but the streets of Boston haven't felt this dangerous in years. Increasingly, say police, guns are coming from Northern New England, where the gun laws are weaker. Gun shows, a billion-dollar business, are one source of guns: There are an estimated 5,000 gun shows like this one around the country every year, and many of them, unlike the one here, include so-called private sellers that require no background checks at all.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that gun shows rank second, after corrupt firearms distributors, in the number of illegally trafficked guns that turn up in its investigations, according to a 2000 report. The National Rifle Association has suggested that ''hundreds of thousands of guns" are sold at gun shows with no background checks. The weapons used in the Columbine High School massacre, which left 14 dead, came from gun shows.

Dramatically reducing the flow of illegal guns would be a relatively straightforward matter if it were not for the lunatic gun lobby and its political enablers. What is needed is uniform national gun laws that require background checks for all gun purchases whether from licensed dealers or from private individuals. In addition, we need to limit gun purchases for individuals to one per month, a policy that has proven effective in Virginia. Question: How many legitimate buyers need more than a dozen guns a year?

Thirty thousand people a year -- 82 a day -- are killed by guns every year in this country. Every two years more Americans die of firearms than all the American soldiers killed in eight years in Vietnam. And yet there is more accountability for dog owners than gun owners; at least dog owners have to have a license. ''If there were white kids in the suburbs dying, we would end gun trafficking," says Heggie, the Randolph cop.

Nationally there are 45 gun shows scheduled for next weekend alone, according to the Big Show Journal, a trade magazine. If you missed last weekend's show in West Lebanon, you'll have another chance before Christmas on Dec. 17 and 18 at the Rockingham Race Park in Salem. And there are four more New Hampshire shows before spring ends. Children under 12 are admitted free.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/11/30/live_free_and_die
 
If anyone heard this segment on Finneran's morning broadcast...

Argh... why'd this have to happen on the one show only four people in the state listen to?!

It should also be mentioned that the host, as a felon, is a federally prohibited person too.

Hopefully the APB you have on the GOAL website and here gets you some results.
 
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Did anyone on this forum actually HEAR..listen to...this broadcast?
If so, I need to speak with you pronto.

Please contact me off list ASAP at [email protected]

...but only if you actually listened to the broadcast in question, on Tuesday July 10 on the Finneran show.

I'm the senior editor of GUN WEEK.

I'd bet you could call the station and get a copy of the tape, or a transcript.

They have pod casts, but my company filters the site. Check here for audio:
http://www.wrko.com/pages/326054.ph...ntent_search.php?contentType=4&resultCount=20

Matt
 
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Jim just sent me this new link...

http://goal.org/news/rosenthalcrimine.htm
The story broken by Gun Owners' Action League concerning the illegal gun purchase made by John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence has gained national attention. Today, the Second Amendment Foundation has asked that the BATFE investigate the situation. The following is a news release from SAF.

Listen to Rosenthal admit to the straw purchase: http://wrko.podzinger.com/viewMedia...37&submitted=1&e=7717729&index=1&seek=462.729

NEWS RELEASE
SAF ASKS FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED STRAW PURCHASE BY ANTI-GUNNER
BELLEVUE, WA –
The Second Amendment Foundation is calling upon the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to open a criminal investigation into what may be a publicly-admitted straw purchase of a handgun in New Hampshire involving the head of a Massachusetts anti-gun organization and a columnist for the Boston Globe.

SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said today that remarks made by John Rosenthal, head of Stop Handgun Violence and a co-founder of the anti-gun American Hunting and Shooting Association, and Globe columnist Steve Bailey during a segment on WRKO AM on July 10 “strongly suggest they were involved in an illegal gun purchase.”

“Bailey and Rosenthal traveled from Massachusetts to New Hampshire where Rosenthal reportedly asked a dealer at a gun show whether he could buy a handgun,” Gottlieb said. “When the dealer learned Rosenthal was a Massachusetts resident, he declined to sell him a gun. At that point, Rosenthal allegedly asked if a companion, who was a New Hampshire resident, could buy the gun and the dealer agreed. Rosenthal, in an interview with Gun Week, claimed that the dealer clearly knew this was a straw sale.

“The irony here,” he observed, “is that Rosenthal has tried to portray this dealer as having conducted a straw sale, but what he is also describing is a straw purchase. There are two sides to any such crime, and the buyer – and the person who initiated that purchase – would be just as criminally liable as the seller of the gun.

“We think federal authorities should find out where that gun is now, who ultimately paid for it, and whether Rosenthal, Bailey and the New Hampshire resident participated in a conspiracy to conduct this transaction,” Gottlieb noted.

“Private citizens, whether they run anti-gun organizations, write for newspapers or happen to be the anti-gun mayor of New York City, cannot conduct straw purchases or hire someone else to do it and then claim it was in the public interest,” Gottlieb concluded. “We believe a crime, or multiple crimes, may have been committed here, and we encourage the BATF to investigate. If it turns out Rosenthal, Bailey and their companion did break the law, we expect them to be prosecuted.”
 
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Here's my ripping of that twit Bailey's little temper tantrum from '05:

Freedom Equals Death

It has been a while since I've read such a pathetic anti-gun column as this one. From the business section of the Boston Globe, comes this hyperbole-laden, Chicken Little-inspired, "The Sky is Falling" piece of blather from Globe columnist, Steve Bailey. You can almost taste the irrationality, fear and hatred in his words.


Yes, folks, according to this enlightened "progressive" thinker, freedom now equals death. I was woefully unaware of that until now - must have missed the memo. Thank you, Mr. Bailey for duly enlightening me as to this stunning new development.

WEST LEBANON, N.H. -- In the manic environment of the first shopping weekend after Thanksgiving, the competition was fierce. We hesitated and lost out on a lovely, slightly used grenade launcher, bargain priced in tax-free New Hampshire at $190.​

I'll assume, based on his vilification here of "grenade launchers", that Mr. Bailey would also advocate the banning of small, single engine aircraft, seeing as they could be used to drop explosives on innocent children playing outside. A grenade launcher without a grenade is a metal pipe. I guess you could beat someone to death with an unloaded grenade launcher, but I suspect that's not the point he's trying to make here.

Not to worry. The dozens of dealers at the Fireside Inn gun show came well armed.​

Gun dealers at a gun show? Dozens of them? With guns? AAAGGHHH!!! THE HUMANITY!!! I'm shocked the gun show didn't register at least a half-dozen homicides that day. Yet, none of these guns managed to jump up and kill ANYONE? Who would want to go to a gun show to buy such defective firearms?

Andrew Heggie, a Randolph police officer, spotted a Bushmaster, similar to the rifle he carried in two tours of duty in Afghanistan.​

Yeah, just like a Honda Civic with a low front spoiler, a whale tail on the back and a bunch of "Type R Racing" stickers on it is "similar" to a Formula One race car.

And he found an AK-47, the same gun the enemy carried.​

Doubtful. Even if it was a full-auto AK, the sale and possession of such a weapon would still be highly regulated by existing federal law. But, why let those silly facts ruin a good fit of hysteria. You've got uneducated people to scare, damn it!

There were military sniper rifles...​

Clearly, we must act now to ban these excessively accurate firearms.... FOR THE CHILDRENTM!!! The world would clearly be a be much safer place if all guns were made to shoot at least a foot high and to the left at a distance of 50 yards. Besides, who, other than a crazed, maniacal killer, needs a rifle that can actually deliver a round to its intended target?

...and an M-16-type "machine pistol"...​

Not sure what that might be, exactly, but it sure sounds scary. I think I peed my pants just thinking about it.

...capable of firing off 100 rounds before reloading...​

Unlike any firearm that can accept a 100-round magazine.

...the kind of gun only an angry high school student could love.​

When did I become an "angry high school student"? Someone has got to get my name on the distribution list for these important memos I seem to be missing on a regular basis.

Saturday night specials were cheap and plentiful.​

What? You mean poor people are actually allowed to exercise their Constitutional rights in some parts of the country? Get me Senator Kennedy on the phone! Now, damn it! This loophole must be closed at once! How dare the peasantry demand equality!

In the end, we settled on a .38-caliber revolver, a trashy little thing popular with thugs in cities like Boston.​

And liberal, gun-grabbing senators from San Francisco. But again, why let reality interfere with a good fear-laden rant?

Made by Connecticut's Charter 2000 Inc. in New England's "Gun Valley," the revolver retails for $349, but my fellow New Hampshire shopper, Walter Belair, picked it up, cash and carry, for just $240. It took Belair, a former prison guard, less than 20 minutes to fill out the federal forms and get approved over the phone. It took me longer to buy a refrigerator at Sears a few weeks ago.​

And that's a relevant comparison, how, exactly?

Read the whole thing.

It's amazing people like this can muster up the courage to leave the house in the morning without suffering a fatal fear-induced heart attack.
 
...capable of firing off 100 rounds before reloading...

Unlike any firearm that can accept a 100-round magazine.

Likely a calico pistol. In .22 it's a 100 shot pistol. I think the 9mm is 50 rounds.

Although I could see a Beta-C 100 rounder for something like a Tec-9 or something. Then again, there are MP5 variants in semi-auto that are legal and I know that there is a Beta-C for that.

Again, so what?

The whole piece is to scare the ignorant, not actually help anyone to understand what was going on.
 
My view is that you should never despair of punishing the wicked. Rosenthal’s various statements over the last 10 years rarely stand up to any questioning. I have interviewed him twice and have found that just a small amount of knowledgeable questioning can shut him down rather quickly; but, he will not retreat, rather, he will take a stand and insist on it.

A bit of history on this a-hole and Michael Kennedy:

(Initial Note: I went to school with Michael Kennedy, and he was a jerk. I once heard him badmouthing me behind my back, but within my earshot, and I came back to him and informed him he was a cowardly backstabber. He and his roommate were silent. If I were a more intelligent person, I would have popped him, and had a story I could tell for the rest of my life. At that time, he was smaller than I, and I don’t go for that sort of bullying.)

1. I believe he was Michael Kennedy’s (2nd son of Robert Kennedy) roommate at college.
2. Michael Kennedy and Rosenthal jointly created Stop Handgun Violence (SHV) c. 1995.
3. Michael Kennedy dropped out of management of SHV c. 1997 when it was disclosed he was boffing the family babysitter (and had been since she was 14; no prosecution, as I recall, but a whale of a lawsuit); then came the famous bout: Tree – 1, Kennedy - 0.
4. I have to believe that Rosenthal is one of those folks that want to be a “Kennedy-by-proxy,” and, yes, he does have the money (real estate development and management).
5. I do not get the feeling that Rosenthal is particularly intelligent. He was probably a B+ student, at best.
6. Remember, those that say “You can’t fight city hall” come from city hall.
7. Rosenthal is vulnerable (remember Michael Skakel (convicted) and William K. Smith (not convicted, but disgraced)), so long as people make a big enough fuss.

I believe the billboard is a public nuisance. It invites people to take in a long message, but only by looking sideways, on a highly trafficked, high speed, roadway. By attracting people to spend (at least) 1-2 seconds of time to take in the message under these circumstances is a potential danger on a state highway and could create the circumstances for a massive automobile pileup. [NOTE: no content-related issues.] I would suggest that Rosenthal remedy the problem by aligning the billboard at a 45 degree angle to obviate the danger. Alternatively, he could break the billboard up into multiple billboards, all aligned to make driving safer on the MassPike. Of course, if this is done, the billboards will only be seeable from one direction, but, it’s for safety and the children.
 
o Rosenthal's exposure at the gun show straw purchase is for conspiracy.

o Had the FFL made the illegal sale to the out of state reporter, the police would have been notified -- and there would have been no "it was just for a reporter's story" excuse.

o How can I get the BGlobe to buy a gun for me -- like they did for that ex-guard in NH? Isn't it time for them to re-visit the theme of "how easy it is to buy a gun in Massachusetts"?
 
Bailey's Fake Staw Purchase

I've been thinking about this for awhile now and while I disagree strongly with John Rosenthal's and Steve Bailey's points of view they are allowed to have them - despite the fact they are factually incorrect and wrong.

What I want to propose is this. Since the ATF has recovered the revolver and it was in the possession of the original purchaser...what's all the fuss about?

Think about it logically for a moment. Steve Bailey only wrote about how easy it was to obtain a firearm. You can get one in MA in 20 minutes worth of paperwork as well...no big deal. He implied a straw purchase for the entertainment of his uneducated audience and the Boston Globe agenda. Since he did not - apparently - take possession nor take it across State lines to MA...his point is mute. He did not conduct a straw purchase in the true sense of the word. Instead he faked one and then wrote about it.

So Steve Bailey is a fake and his article is a fake. My point being if he persists in stating that he achieved a straw purchase then he should be prosecuted. If he recants his article, publically apologizes for faking in a recant of his column in the Boston Globe, then we should all let him off the hook. If not, then like I said...prosecute everyone involved.

Thoughts?
 
I've been thinking about this for awhile now and while I disagree strongly with John Rosenthal's and Steve Bailey's points of view they are allowed to have them - despite the fact they are factually incorrect and wrong.

What I want to propose is this. Since the ATF has recovered the revolver and it was in the possession of the original purchaser...what's all the fuss about?

Who posesses the revolver is functionally meaningless- these guys still
conspired to break the law, which in and of itself is illegal, especially in
this case. There's at least a small handful of federal felonies at hand
here.

The point is, if any of -US- got caught doing the same thing, we'd more
than likely have our asses on the griddle in a heartbeat, in one of the
feds patented "poster boy/girl" prosecutions. I think the idea is that
maybe if bailey gets to "taste the flame" that maybe hell STFU about
how "weak" federal gun laws are.

Think about it logically for a moment.

We're talking about federal gun laws here, logic doesn't apply. [laugh] If
logic was used in creating them then the whole thing would be moot- and
it'd just be another anti gun tripe article.

For whatever it is or isn't worth, I think all the GCA68/brady/BG check crap is
blatantly unconstitutional and should be repealed, but the problem is what
we have now is "the law" and "the law" in this case is not a lightweight one,
either. Almost all fed gun law violations are full blown felonies.

Steve Bailey only wrote about how easy it was to obtain a firearm. You can get one in MA in 20 minutes worth of paperwork as well...no big deal. He implied a straw purchase for the entertainment of his uneducated audience and the Boston Globe agenda. Since he did not - apparently - take possession nor take it across State lines to MA...his point is mute. He did not conduct a straw purchase in the true sense of the word. Instead he faked one and then wrote about it.

Well, I think that's what he wants us to believe- but in the eyes of a
typical ATF thug/fed, the whole thing was a straw... it had all the
mechanicals there... someone (from out of state) paying someone else to
buy them a gun on their behalf. I will admit that "intent" is difficult to
prove but if there was an ATF agent lurking behind them when this deal was
orchestrated that one or both of them would have been arrested on the
spot, no if ands or buts about it.

So Steve Bailey is a fake and his article is a fake. My point being if he persists in stating that he achieved a straw purchase then he should be prosecuted. If he recants his article, publically apologizes for faking in a recant of his column in the Boston Globe, then we should all let him off the hook. If not, then like I said...prosecute everyone involved.

Thoughts?

IMO there should be no letting him off the hook either
way- if he doesn't get indicted then the globe should still fire him for
making shit up.

It's not as if he said "Well, we could do this, but we didn't, because it's a
federal felony" and the reason why he avoided that statement, is that
exposing the readers to that reality (that there are large amounts of gun
laws with harsh punishments on the books) didn't fit his anti-gun agenda.

[angry]

-Mike
 
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