Crime video: Operation Domino: This video, released by ATF on 2008 was taken during an undercover operation by Reno ATF agents that went after firearms trafficking by members of the Mongols motorcycle gang.
Written by
Martha Bellisle
Two federal law enforcement agencies with offices in Reno said Tuesday that they’re handling some firearms cases in the absence of agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who were involved in a rift with local federal prosecutors.
But neither the FBI nor the Drug Enforcement Agency is working firearm sales or trafficking cases, agents said. Annual gun data shows a drop in illegal firearms recovered last year.
The Reno ATF office emptied out this summer after the head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Reno told those agents in September 2011 that they would not prosecute their cases until certain unidentified problems are resolved.
The agents left because they wanted to work cases that stopped the flow of illegal weapons through Reno but the federal prosecutors would not take the cases, according to an ongoing Reno Gazette-Journal investigation
ATF data on the guns collected by law enforcement shows a large drop in 2011. The total number of guns recovered by law enforcement in Nevada in 2006 was 4,533.
But in 2011, the total was 2,204, ATF reports said. Officials with the San Francisco ATF Field Office, in charge of Nevada, could not be reached for comment on that data.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was concerned that gun violence would increase in the Reno area because of the rift, and sent letters last week to ATF Director B. Todd Jones and Nevada U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden, giving them until Wednesday to call his office and set up a briefing on the problems.
The ATF has been working with Grassley to set a time, according to the senator’s spokeswoman, Beth Levine. But Bogden had not called by late Tuesday.
If he doesn’t contact Grassley’s office by Wednesday, she said they would contact him. Grassley was a member of a Congressional oversight committee that investigated the botched Department of Justice Fast and Furious operation.
Allison Price, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said she had no comment on the issues on Tuesday.
Patrick Turner, spokesman for the FBI in Nevada, said he knew there were problems between the Reno ATF and local federal prosecutors but said he did not know any details or the cause.
“We understand there’s an issue between them but it’s
not something the FBI is involved in,” said Turner, who is based in Las Vegas.
“We have a good working relationship with ATF and with the U.S. attorneys, too,
and the local DA. The problems have not affected our work.”
When asked if the FBI has handled any firearms trafficking cases since the ATF problems began a year ago, Turner said his agents are authorized to do undercover firearms trafficking cases but said he did not know if they have done any in Reno.
Mike Bakios, the resident agent in charge for the Reno DEA office, said they don’t seek out gun cases, but they sometimes seize weapons during a drug deal. Since the Reno ATF office emptied out, the DEA will call the ATF office in Las Vegas if any are seized, he said.
“We focus on drugs,” Bakios said. “But if we find guns, we reach out to Las Vegas and they’ll trace them for us. It’s not something we do. We don’t have the expertise.”
Bakios said he was not aware of any federal agents working firearm trafficking cases, which are usually handled by ATF.
“If we have any leads on gun trafficking, I’ll pass them along to Las Vegas,” he said.
When asked if the FBI has handled any firearms trafficking cases since the ATF problems began a year ago, Turner said his agents are authorized to do undercover firearms trafficking cases but said he did not know if they have done any in Reno.
Mike Bakios, the resident agent in charge for the Reno DEA office, said they don’t seek out gun cases, but they sometimes seize weapons during a drug deal. Since the Reno ATF office emptied out, the DEA will call the ATF office in Las Vegas if any are seized, he said.
“We focus on drugs,” Bakios said. “But if we find guns, we reach out to Las Vegas and they’ll trace them for us. It’s not something we do. We don’t have the expertise.”
Bakios said he was not aware of any federal agents working firearm trafficking cases, which are usually handled by ATF.
“If we have any leads on gun trafficking, I’ll pass them along to Las Vegas,” he said.