various firearms from T. J.'s Sporting Goods, 850 Broadway, Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia. The firearms included sawed off shotguns. John Talmadge Attaway, Jr., the owner of the business made numerous statements regarding firearms transactions. Attaway sold firearms and ammunition to the undercover officer and provided false identification and on some transactions requested no identification. On February 8, 1975, Attaway and Emmett Hanson, the Manager of the business, were arrested. A Federal Search Warrant was simultaneously executed on the business. Four hundred and forty-six Title I and Four Title II firearms along with 22,597 rounds of ammunition were seized from the business. Upon entering the premises, officers saw an electric hack saw, which was in operation cutting the barrel from a single barrel shotgun. This saw was photographed while still operating. The principal, John Talmadge Attaway, Jr., and his manager, Emmett Hanson, were arrested at this time pursuant to Federal arrest warrants. Attaway immediately stated that he was cutting the barrel from the shotgun in order to make black jacks and that a new legal length barrel had been ordered for the one he was cutting. He later changed his story to one of making weights for fishing nets after four additional barrel ends were found on the premises. The investigation resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of 437 firearms along with 22,597 rounds of handgun ammunition. Both Attaway and Hanson entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court. Attaway received a sentence of four years C.A.G. and Hanson received four years probation. GN-18.975-U.S. vs. Ronnie Wayne Fenton, Edward Henry Boles, Russell Lee Wear-In December, 1970, and January, 1971, Ronnie Wayne Fenton, Edward Henry Boles and Russell Lee Wear were arrested for receiving and selling approximately 81 firearms which had been stolen from interstate shipments received by United Parcel Service in Atlanta, Georgia. Fenton was an employee of United Parcel Service at the time the firearms were removed from interstate shipment. In December, 1970, Fenton sold undercover agents several of the firearms that had been stolen from the shipment. On August 25, 1972, Fenton pled guilty and received six months C.A.G. and two and a half years probation. Wear pled Nolo Contendere and received three years probation. Boles pled guilty and received two years probation. Ga. S-10.007 (T-I&T-II) U.S. vs. Walter Earl Cannon, Jr.-On August 31, 1970, Walter Earl Cannon, Jr., had on display at his place of business in Dublin, Georgia, a large quantity of firearms. He stated to ATF Special Agents that they were not for sale and were for display only. He also stated that he was aware of the Federal requirements concerning a dealer in firearms or a gunsmith, and if he decided to engage in the business as a dealer in firearms he would apply for a license. During August and September of 1971, undercover agents purchased five firearms from Cannon, one of which was a NFA machine gun. Cannon offered to sell other firearms to the undercover agents. On Septmber 10, 1971, Cannon was arrested on charges of engaging in a firearms business without having a license. Seventy three firearms were seized. He was also charged with illegally possessing and/or transferring several NFA firearms. In March, 1972, Cannon pleaded guilty to violations of the GCA of 1968 in U.S. District Court and was placed on three years probation. Mr. PIPER. Mr. Chairman, we have 420 special agents to police 33,864 licensed dealers and with that comment, I will go right to Mr. Russell of South Carolina. Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee my name is Durwood G. Russell. I am the acting special agent in charge of the Columbia, S.C. District Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. Department of the Treasury. In this capacity, I am responsible for all matters under the jurisdiction of criminal enforcement of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in the State of South Carolina. As evidenced by ATF project I, which stands for identification, the State of South Carolina is one of the leading illicit suppliers of handguns, cheap handguns to northern States. Out of a total of 1,970 handguns requested to be traced by the New York City Police Department, the major source of these guns into New York City were six States, the State of South Carolina led these States with 500 handguns. This survey also revealed that of the firearms traced, approximately 60 percent were of the variety commonly known as Saturday night specials. At the present time, there are approximately 3,450 licensed dealers in the State of South Carolina. Prior to the passage of the new State firearms law by the 1975 South Carolina General Assembly, South Carolina basically had no gun law at all, and the ones in force were not or could not be enforced. On June 22, 1973, a law was approved in the State of South Carolina in the effect that no licensed dealer shall sell any pistol or other handgun which has a die-cast frame or receiver which melts at temperature of less than 800 degree Fahrenheit. This law was unenforceable as it was necessary to test each and every firearm suspected of not meeting this criteria. In addition, the manufacturers of cheap handguns could overcome this law by adding a small amount of higher quality alloy to the frame or receiver of the gun, thereby raising the melting point of the firearms in excess of the 800-degree-Fahrenheit level set by State law. Since the above law could not be, or was not enforced by the State, South Carolina remained virtually with no gun law at all, until the 1975 legislature passed a gun control law. On June 17, 1975, South Carolina Governor James B. Edwards signed a law that prohibits the sale of more than one pistol to any person in a period of 30 days and limits purchases of pistols to residents of the State of South Carolina. This new legislation also empowers law enforcement officials to inspect the premises of licensed dealers for illegal handguns, without warrants. There is no doubt that these laws were passed by the South Carolina State Legislature following widespread national publicity, that was the 60 Minutes program some time ago on television. This 60 Minutes program cited South Carolina as a chief source of handguns used by criminals elsewhere in the United States, including New York City. The legislation finally passed by the general assembly was much weaker than the proposals made by Governor Edwards and the State's Attorney General Daniel McLeod. They had asked for a 10day waiting period between an application to purchase a handgun and the date of actual purchase. This, they held, would have allowed the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to determine the fitness of applicants to own handguns, and might provide for a cooling-off period for persons intent on committing crimes of passion. It should be noted here that the Bureau of ATF, special agent in charge, at that time, Mr. Louis F. Fisher, assisted the South Carolina attorney general, Mr. McLeod, in drafting the new South Carolina State gun control law, even though all of its provisions were not passed into law. In addition, special agent in charge, Mr. Fisher and the assistant special agent in charge, appeared upon the request of the State's attorney general, at the committee hearing at the State capital, wherein these gun laws were discussed. As a rule in perfecting firearms cases, we have found few cases involving a conspiracy between the dealer and purchaser. The primary method of operation varies in degrees, however. In most cases an out-of-State purchaser presents temporary identification such as a South Carolina voter registration, which can be obtained in one day, or a driver's license, which also can be obtained in one day. It is prevalent to find that a convicted felon or an out-of-State purchaser will pay a local derelict a small amount of money to make the firearms purchase. The scheme varies, but the object is always the same, get the handgun. We have found too, that the dealer is not always blameless. In their apparent zest for the money derived from these sales, they are often eager to accept identification that is not always valid. For instance, a social security card as identification when we know in fact there is no address on a social security card. It is most apparent that a vast number of handguns have traveled interstate from South Carolina to other States and cities. For instance, in 15 cases investigated by the South Carolina special agents, a total of 39,531 guns were involved, and these cases are cited as part of an attachment and, Mr. Chairman, I believe you do have those cases as cited. Mr. CONYER. We do and we will incorporate them into your statement. Mr. RUSSELL. Thank you, sir. In furtherance, in November 1974, the decision was made by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of ATF to conduct a survey to examine licensed firearms dealers' records in a large metropolitan area. Due to the vast influx of firearms from the southeast region to the northern cities, the logical location for such a project was the southeast region. Thus, Greenville, S.C., was selected for the survey because of the heavy illicit traffic in firearms through that area, and this was also as evidence by project I and numerous investigations that had been conducted in that area. Herein, the survey that we code named "Greenville Project" was born. The intent of the pilot Greenville project was: One: To determine the number of times convicted felons purchased handguns from dealers in that area by making false statements on Form 4473, which is the Treasury document. Two: To determine whether such a project, implemented nationally, would have a meaningful impact on reducing the number of handguns in the possession of felons; and Three: To determine what additional resources would be needed to implement the project nationally, if warranted, upon what we found in the Greenville project. Subsequently, Greenville special agents copied firearms transac-tion records at 17 licensed locations in and around Greenville, S.C. The records showed a total of 2,537 handguns sold to 2,047 purchasers during the period May 1, 1974, to and including October 31. 1974. Of the 2,047 names submitted, for criminal record check, 215 had. arrest records in FBI files. Approximately 73 of them had felony convictions. On or about March 1, 1975, Greenville special agents launched an intensive investigation of each felon purchaser and in the end, perfected cases against 26 convicted felon purchasers and one unlicensed dealer, all in less than six weeks. It should be noted that with the assistance of the U.S. attorney's office in Greenville, S.C., the 26 convicted felons were selected and weeded from the original 73 convicted felons found to be in violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968. The group represented the very core of criminal activities in the Greenville area, comprised of murderers, rapists, burglars, fences for stolen goods, and so forth, their FBI records read like a laundry list, each having a history of violence. During the afternoon of April 15, 1975, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and continuing until after midnight, Greenville special agents led teams of State, city, and county officers on a series of raids which resulted in the arrest of all but five of the defendants and I might add, all defendants have been arrested. During the same period, two defendants were arrested out of State by ATF, one in Jacksonville, Fla., and one in Hartford, Conn. Upon completion of these cases, the facts were presented to a Federal grand jury who presented a true bill of indictment in each case. The Greenville project brought out some most interesting facts: There were 147 purchasers who had criminal records, but had no felony convictions; 27 defendants purchased a total of 35 handguns; 7 of these handguns, or 20 percent, were valued at more than $85; 9 or 26 percent, were valued at $50 to $85 and 19, or 54 percent, were valued at less than $50. There were 41 convicted felon purchasers who were not charged because of the nature of the crimes committed, such as their conviction was liquor law violations, and some of these convictions were 30 or 40 years old and so forth, and other factors, such as the age of the defendant and health. With the exception of court action, the Greenville project has been concluded. Just recently, on June 6, 1975, our Florence, S.C., Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms special agents along with U.S. marshals arrested a total of seven firearms dealers and three employees of firearms dealers. These arrests climaxed 3 months of undercover investigations pertaining to out-of-State residents purchasing handguns from local firearms dealers. During this undercover investigation, handguns were purchased from seven dealers: and three employees of the dealers. These cases have been presented to a Federal grand jury. Mr. Chairman, prior to my leaving the office last Friday, I received a memorandum, a letter from the attorney general for the State of South Carolina, Mr. Daniel R. McLeod. This letter was addressed to Mr. William R. Griffin, Regional Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Atlanta, Ga., who is the ATF Regional Director for the Southeast Region. I respectfully request that this letter be entered into the record, if it be your desire, and I believe the letter has been presented to a member of your staff. Mr. CONYERS. Without Objection, that will be done. [The letter referred to follows:] THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbia, July 18, 1975. MR. WILLIAM N. GRIFFIN, Regional Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, DEAR MR. GRIFFIN: It is my understanding that some of the Regional and National officials of your Department will appear before various Congressional Committees which are considering the strengthening of various Federal Firearms Laws. In this connection, I wish to submit my endorsement of procedures looking to this objective and to commend the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of the Columbia District Office for its aid in enabling me to appear before Legislative Committees of this State with the same objectives in mind. The vast abuse of wholesale firearms purchases in this State was called to my attention by the local Special Agent in Charge, Mr. Louis F. Fisher, now retired. I was appalled at the information he related to me and dismayed that South Carolina appeared to the focal point for the procurement of large numbers of firearms which were purchased here and moved into other states for distribution. It was obvious that our statute was ghostly defective and that it did not provide for a method of effective enforcement. With the assistance of Mr. Fisher and other Agents from the local Office, as well as from the Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia, I was able to prepare a suggested statute for the Legislative Committee Mr. Fisher and the officials named appeared before the Committee as witnesses, at the Committee's request, and presented persuasive reasons why a better approach was needed. We have achieved some degree of minimal success but we have made a landmark stride by at least curtailing the number of weapons which an individual may purchase at a single time. Our existing statutes were modified in other particulars but I consider the change referred to as being very important. We are still lacking in enforcement procedures but I am optimistic that this may be achieved in the future. Added impetus was timely made by the showing of a television documentary in which Mr. Fisher appeared and which served to make the public, and particulary Legislative Members, aware of the problem which this State faced. It has been met in part by the statutory changes but the most forceful conclusion which is apparent to me is that a handful of Federal officers are effectively maintaining surveillance within the scope of Federal laws, whereas in South Carolina there is no concentrated enforcement policy. This, I think, is the most inherent defect in South Carolina's existing procedures. I have been profoundly impressed by the expertise of the Federal enforcement officials and their willingness to aid this State in combating a problem which concerns the entire Country. I hope very much that complimentary legislation that may be needed in Federal and State areas can be speedily procured to control an intolerable condition in this Nation. Very truly yours, DANIEL R. MCLEOD, |