> admitted to illegally manufacturing and selling assault weapons, while conspiring to defraud local banks of over $9 million in loans

.

>Whitman’s firearms store, Hitman Firearms LLC,

This guy is a model cop.

Is he still on paid leave? And will he be paid while in jail?

My expertise lies in Birdlaw, so I could not say..

Can we all start demanding that, when a police officer commits a crime, that it is not reported as “former” police? The fact is that these crimes were committed when the officer was on active duty. It is reported this way constantly. The officer who shot her neighbor because she walked into the wrong apartment was immediately characterized as “former,” even though she shot the victim as an active duty officer. The 4 who murdered George Floyd were right away called “former.” By characterizing these criminals as “former,” it takes away the gravitas that these are not only criminals, but they are also breaching the trust that society places on them. Saying “former” gives a false impression that the crimes were committed at some point after their law enforcement career.

I'm convinced that all the carve outs and protections from laws that cops get either goes right to their head or straight up attracts the kind of people that want to break laws.

It's insane to me that not only are they not held to a higher standard, they're actually often exempt.

The reporting on police is riddled with euphemisms and other evasions of responsibility like this. It drives me insane.

A journalist writing the phrase "officer involved shooting" is a disgrace, yet this pro-cop PR speak seems to be entirely normalized in our press.

According to our press cops never commit crimes, only former cops do.

Takes a real galaxy brain cop to manage to engage in the few types of gun flipping schemes that might actually get prosecuted.

Cops in MA already have a tidy grift opportunity by using their exemption to the approved firearms roster to flip unapproved pistols on the secondary market for a hefty premium.

He was on paid leave for a year, and now the state will house him for another year. How much is this guy costing the public?

Does he keep his pension, too?

The punishment for crimes these active police officers commit, especially those that are not accidental and a direct result of trying to enforce the law, must be DOUBLE that of a civilian.

Breaking public trust should be a separate crime with mandatory charges.

>convert guns they were legally allowed to repair, buy and sell, into more heavily-regulated short-barrel rifles, which Whitman’s firearms store, Hitman Firearms LLC, did not have the proper licenses to carry.

What. A. Jackass.

I think I'd get more than a year and a day if I did this exact thing.....

In line with the culture. He just got caught.

I imagine he'll go to federal prison after being sentenced in a federal case

We don't demand enough of our law enforcement officers. It's is waaaay too easy to be a cop and virtually impossible to lose the job. It is the easiest path to a six figure salary.

>Does he keep his pension, too?

Naturally.

Can't wait to see which town hires him in a year

>Violations of the NFA are punishable by 10 years in prison, forfeiture of all devices or firearms in violation, and the individuals right to own or possess additional firearms in the future.  In addition, there is a penalty of $10,000 for each of certain violations.

>In addition, a willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax imposed by the National Firearms Act is also a felony which is punishable by up to 5 years in Jail and a $100,000 fine under the tax evasion statutes.  This penalty could be increased to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations.

>This means you could be looking at a maximum of 15 years in Jail and $510,000 in penalties for a violation.   Many violations can be avoided by proper ownership and knowing who can be in possession and use the Title 2 firearms which are restricted under the NFA.

https://www.guntrustlawyer.com/nfa-firearms-and-criminal-pena/

Guy got a sweetheart deal because he was a cop, I'm surprised the judge didn't give him head as part of the deal.

Caesar's wife must be above suspicion. Our overlords have apparently forgotten this.

Year and a day

I thought correctly lmao this is so blatantly unfair and not right that they can just decide who to throw the fucking book at and who they decide to be lenient with. There should be some oversight or something. Crazy idea off the top....could they do the trial without letting the judge and jury know what the person looks like and does for a living and just judge the situation ?

Unfortunately probably sooner. If you get sentenced federally for a year or less you serve the full time. Anything beyond a year, you can get “discounts.” So for good behavior, 54 days will be wiped off your sentence so it’s really like 10 months. Not sure if there’s any other discounts you can get but

He’s a convicted felon now. Isn’t it illegal for him to possess a firearm?

I was surprised that this wasn't mentioned in the article since they mentioned specifically returning the firearms that were illegally converted.

Is he able to continue his gun shop? Because that license should absolutely be on the chopping block. There's plenty of folks that can run one without the direct history of illegality.

I'm betting he keeps his job even..

He isn't even "former" he was on paid leave.

100%. Courts have ruled in favor of police departments turning down applicants for placing too high on intelligence tests. They aren't looking for Columbo, they're looking for moronic psychos who will do whatever they're told. Add to that the direction of policing towards more military style units, strong turn from "here to help" to "here to fuck up your life"... what kind of asshole would want to be a cop now anyways?

They're all bad.

Really curious what happens to the co-conspirator…

He’ll get back what he paid into the pension system, but not his pension.

Legally, I doubt he’s able to operate a gun store since he can’t legally hold a gun. Both his livelihoods and passions have been absolutely eviscerated. I unironically love to see it.

Just one year though

Slap on the wrists