Saturday, December 09, 2006
By PRECIOUS PETTY
The Express-Times
A Palmer Township gun shop named this week in a lawsuit targeting the illegal sale of weapons sold 12 firearms recovered in New York City after the commission of a crime.
On average, 1.6 years passed between each weapon's purchase from John's Gun & Tackle Room and its use in a crime, according to the lawsuit.
Fewer than four days lapsed in some cases, the lawsuit says.
Typically, guns later linked with an illegal activity in New York City were purchased six years earlier.
All of the guns were sold between February 1994 and June 2002, during which time shop owner John Coscia knowingly participated in "straw purchases," a scam in which one person fills out paperwork for a gun even though he's buying it for another person, the lawsuit says.
The maneuver is often employed by convicted felons and others forbidden to own firearms.
Crimes involving firearms from the 2604 Freemansburg Ave. store include a shooting and robberies in Brooklyn and Queens, the suit says.
The suit described some of the guns Coscia sold as "Saturday-night specials -- cheap, poorly made weapons favored by criminals."
Coscia, who said he's run his business since 1981, declined to comment Friday about details of the lawsuit at the advice of his attorney, whom he would not name.
Gun control advocates applaud court action
New York City's suit asks a federal court to order supervision and extra training for John's Gun & Tackle Room and 11 other gun dealers in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.
The suit, which sued 15 other out-of-state shops several months ago, alleges they are responsible for many of the illegal weapons that end up in the Big Apple.
Six gun dealers named in the original suit, including Dunkelberger's Sports Outfitter of Stroudsburg, settled with the city, allowing the courts to monitor their firearms sales practices.
Bryan Miller, spokesman for gun violence prevention organization Ceasefire NJ, said Pennsylvania's lax gun-purchase laws attract people from New York and New Jersey who'd have a tough time buying a firearm in their home state.
"What they do is go to Pennsylvania, where it's a piece of cake," he said.
Buying a handgun in the commonwealth is typically a same-day transaction, compared to weeks or even months of waiting in the Garden State, Miller said.
Eventually, the hope is that Pennsylvania will strengthen its laws," he said.
"But until that time, initiatives like (New York City Mayor Michael) Bloomberg's are very valuable because they are directed at gun dealers who it appears have engaged in illegal practices," he said.
Hidden cameras record straw purchase, suit says
The suit says Coscia allowed Lydia Carter to make straw purchases at his shop on Nov. 24, 1999, and Jan. 14, 2000.
Carter, who later pleaded guilty to straw purchasing, bought four 9 mm Ruger pistols and one .45-caliber Intratec pistol from Coscia, according to the suit.
Another woman, Robin Gross, made a straw purchase for a convicted felon at the shop on Jan. 21, 2002, the suit says.
Also, when two private investigators hired by New York City simulated a straw purchase at Coscia's business April 19, 2006, the salesperson didn't question their intent, according to the lawsuit. Investigators recorded the incident with hidden cameras.
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Friday he has not received any complaints about John's Gun & Tackle Room and was not contacted before the suit's filing.
In March 2004, Coscia was bound with duct tape and pistol-whipped in a robbery at his shop that netted 48 handguns. A federal jury in November 2006 convicted Frank Berryman of Philadelphia of robbery and related crimes.
Reporter Precious Petty can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at ppetty@express-times.com.
Reporter Russ Flanagan contributed to this report.
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