‘BLOOMBERG’S VIGILANTE STING HURT REAL INVESTIGATIONS, SO PROSECUTE HIM,’ SAYS CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should be investigated for obstruction of justice, and possibly prosecuted under the federal RICO statutes, for his headline-hunting “sting” operation of alleged law-breaking gun dealers, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.

“According to the New York Daily News, ‘Quick-Draw’ Bloomberg’s decision to hire private investigators for this gun control stunt has apparently jeopardized several genuine criminal cases,’ said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “In his foolish zeal to drum up support for an anti-gun campaign, Bloomberg quite possibly has put real investigations at risk. This appears to be as clear cut a case of obstruction of justice as I’ve ever witnessed and Bloomberg should be investigated, and prosecuted if necessary.”

CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron added, “That fact that he hired private investigators who have no law enforcement authority to conduct sting operations in several states – an operation that apparently involved falsely filling out federal background check paperwork – could open Bloomberg up to prosecution under the federal racketeering statutes, and for conspiracy to commit multiple federal felonies, if nothing else. Private citizens, including so-called investigators, cannot give deliberately false information on a Form 4473. That’s a crime, and because Bloomberg set the whole thing up, he would be an accessory to that crime.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a billionaire,” Waldron said. “Rich politicians are not above the law.”

Gottlieb called on federal prosecutors and the Department of Justice to open an investigation of Bloomberg’s anti-gun sting. Bloomberg reportedly launched the project as a means of finding rogue gun dealers he could sue in civil court, apparently in an effort to grab media attention.

“In terms of a publicity stunt,” Gottlieb said, “this one could – and should – have very serious consequences for Mayor Bloomberg and anyone connected with it. This was no college prank, but a wide-reaching operation, probably paid for with public money. If there are bad gun dealers out there, let the professionals handle the problem. We don’t need a New York mayor practicing his own form of vigilante justice.”