In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
man arrested after machinegun part arrivesin mail
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Hypoluxo man arrested after machine gun part arrives in mail
By Jon Burstein
Staff Writer
Posted September 26 2002
A Hypoluxo man living under the name of the action hero from the Steven Seagal movie Above the Law learned this week that the movie title might not hold true for him in real life.
The man known as Nico Toscanni was arrested Monday after a postal inspector posing as a mailman delivered him a package containing the frame of a rare Czech-made fully automatic machine gun, court records state. Police in Prague had intercepted the package addressed to Toscanni last month and alerted U.S. authorities to its contents.
Toscanni faces felony charges of smuggling goods into the United States and unlawful possession of an unregistered machine gun.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Linnea Johnson ordered Wednesday that Toscanni be held without bail pending trial, observing that he "strangely" appeared to have a number of false identities.
Federal authorities still are unsure of Toscanni's true identity. After initially identifying himself as Toscanni, he told federal agents that his real name is Ivan Skarita, according to court documents.
In a search of his apartment, authorities found an array of identification cards with different names on them, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell.
He had one card identifying him as Finnish journalist Eric Anderson, a California identification card with his name as John Smith and an international driving permit under the name Benny Anderson, Bell said.
He had what appeared to be a Florida concealed weapons permit under the name Yvan Skaritka and a U.S. passport under the name Toscani with one "n," Bell said.
Toscanni said he had no idea who mailed him the gun part from the Czech Republic. He maintained he was looking up the phone number for the local Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office when agents showed up to his door, according to court documents.
He said he was allowed to pick his name when he came to the United States so he chose that of the stoic, unorthodox Chicago police officer Steven Seagal's 1988 debut movie, court records indicate.
Toscanni told authorities that he used to work as an engineer at a gun manufacturing plant in Miami and that he's a gun collector.
ATF agent Seth Berger testified Wednesday that what appears to be an illegally modified Uzi machine gun was found in Toscanni's home along with four other guns. With the part he received in the mail, Toscanni had all the components to put together a CZ-25 machine gun -- a firearm that's made in the Czech Republic for the military, according to court records.
Local ATF agents said Wednesday this is the first time they've encountered the rare firearm. The gun's street value is at least $1,500, court records state.
Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2895.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pnico26sep26,0,3392059.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Jon Burstein
Staff Writer
Posted September 26 2002
A Hypoluxo man living under the name of the action hero from the Steven Seagal movie Above the Law learned this week that the movie title might not hold true for him in real life.
The man known as Nico Toscanni was arrested Monday after a postal inspector posing as a mailman delivered him a package containing the frame of a rare Czech-made fully automatic machine gun, court records state. Police in Prague had intercepted the package addressed to Toscanni last month and alerted U.S. authorities to its contents.
Toscanni faces felony charges of smuggling goods into the United States and unlawful possession of an unregistered machine gun.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Linnea Johnson ordered Wednesday that Toscanni be held without bail pending trial, observing that he "strangely" appeared to have a number of false identities.
Federal authorities still are unsure of Toscanni's true identity. After initially identifying himself as Toscanni, he told federal agents that his real name is Ivan Skarita, according to court documents.
In a search of his apartment, authorities found an array of identification cards with different names on them, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell.
He had one card identifying him as Finnish journalist Eric Anderson, a California identification card with his name as John Smith and an international driving permit under the name Benny Anderson, Bell said.
He had what appeared to be a Florida concealed weapons permit under the name Yvan Skaritka and a U.S. passport under the name Toscani with one "n," Bell said.
Toscanni said he had no idea who mailed him the gun part from the Czech Republic. He maintained he was looking up the phone number for the local Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office when agents showed up to his door, according to court documents.
He said he was allowed to pick his name when he came to the United States so he chose that of the stoic, unorthodox Chicago police officer Steven Seagal's 1988 debut movie, court records indicate.
Toscanni told authorities that he used to work as an engineer at a gun manufacturing plant in Miami and that he's a gun collector.
ATF agent Seth Berger testified Wednesday that what appears to be an illegally modified Uzi machine gun was found in Toscanni's home along with four other guns. With the part he received in the mail, Toscanni had all the components to put together a CZ-25 machine gun -- a firearm that's made in the Czech Republic for the military, according to court records.
Local ATF agents said Wednesday this is the first time they've encountered the rare firearm. The gun's street value is at least $1,500, court records state.
Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2895.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pnico26sep26,0,3392059.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.
The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !
=================================================================
Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com
? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
firearm smuggling
He allegedly imported
a Steyr Aug machine gun
By Debra Barayuga
mailto:dbarayuga@starbulletin.com?subject=http://starbulletin.com/
2002/08/30/
Federal prosecutors say a school teacher accused of smuggling a machine gun into Hawaii should be held without bail because he poses a danger to the community, "especially to the administration officials, teachers and students at Nanakuli Elementary School.
"John Kadota, 43, of Kapolei, was charged in a five-count indictment earlier this week with firearms offenses, including importing a machine gun with an obliterated serial number, importing a firearm without a permit and two counts of smuggling.
Yesterday, U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren suspended all proceedings against Kadota and ordered that he undergo a mental examination and be evaluated for competency.Kadota is a computer resource teacher and has taught at Nanakuli since 1998.
According to documents filed yesterday in the case, Kadota already owned 17 firearms, including a semiautomatic Steyr Aug Model A1 rifle, when he allegedly went on eBay on June 27 using a school computer and sent a message saying he would pay up to $1,000 for a machine gun receiver.Possession of a machine gun or its components is a federal offense.
In court documents, assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg noted that Kadota has had an anger management problem that has manifested itself over the last two years and is a compelling reason why he should be held without bail."It has gotten so bad that teachers at Nanakuli Elementary School have compared Mr. Kadota to the Xerox guy (Byran Uyesugi) who killed seven of his co-workers in the worst mass murder in Hawaii's history," Silverberg wrote. The teachers expressed their concerns not knowing he possessed 17 firearms and a machine gun.He noted that a pretrial services report cited Kadota as having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder/manic depression and since 2000 has been undergoing psychiatric treatment and taking an antidepressant three times a day. Kadota has acknowledged becoming severely depressed in 1999 after breaking up with a girlfriend.Despite his anger management problems, Kadota has refused to comply with the school's recommendation that he enroll in anger management classes, Silverberg said. "He appears to be like a simmering volcano waiting to erupt. Releasing him into the community under these circumstances would be taking a huge risk," he wrote.Kadota is currently on department-directed administrative leave from Nanakuli, Greg Knudsen, Department of Education spokesman, said yesterday.Nanakuli Elementary Principal Sandy Ahu said they were saddened to hear the news about Kadota, but the safety of students and staff is their foremost concern. She was apprised of the situation earlier this week.A letter to parents informing them of Kadota, reiterating the safety of the school community as their utmost concern and offering counseling to students who may need it was to be distributed today, she said.Ahu said she was not aware of what Kadota did in his private life or that he owned firearms. She said she could not discuss Kadota's anger management problems and how they are handling them because it concerns personnel issues. But "we have been working on it," she said.Knudsen said the nature of the charges Kadota faces indicates that his interest in firearms did not spill over into his work at school or that firearms were found on campus. "It doesn't appear there was anything that created a dangerous situation for children.
"According to an affidavit filed by Special Agent Jordan Lowe with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Customs Service intercepted two parcels from GERMANY this month that were addressed to Kadota.The contents had been wrapped in tin foil, but customs officials discovered what they were when the parcels were put through a metal detector, Silverberg said.One parcel contained a Steyr AUG Model A2 carbine receiver with an obliterated serial number, and the other a Steyr AUG Model A2 machine gun trigger, stock and partial bolt assembly.Both parcels were delivered to Kadota on Saturday by a U.S. postal worker. Kadota signed for the parcels and allegedly told the mailman that he had been waiting for them for a month. Federal agents knocked on his door about 20 minutes later, and Kadota answered the door while holding the machine gun receiver.With the receiver and other machine gun components, Kadota could convert the semiautomatic Steyr A2 rifle into a fully automatic machine gun, Silverberg said.When asked why Kadota would want an automatic machine gun, Silverberg said it was a concern, particularly because the serial number had been obliterated.If Kadota merely wanted to add it to his gun collection, he would have no reason to conceal it. The only reason why Kadota would want to obliterate the serial number is because he did not want the machine gun traced to him, Silverberg said in court documents.
Some parents of Nanakuli students said they are concerned that Kadota owned so many guns."That scares me," said Momi Kaeo, who has two children attending Nanakuli Elementary.She said her son was fond of Kadota and that Kadota was a nice teacher. But her child's safety is her priority, and she would consider home-schooling her children if she did not feel they were safe in school.Kadota joined the public school system in 1992 at Kamaile Elementary and then went to Ewa Elementary in 1996.Possession of a machine gun is punishable by 10 years' imprisonment. The smuggling charges and importing a firearm without a permit and with an obliterated serial number are punishable by five years' imprisonment.
For you guys wanting or thinking about illegally importing a receiver of any type through the mail/UPS/Fed ex you better think hard about 10 years of your life locked away some where.
=================================================================
Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com
? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.