Simon Perri, Jr., D/B/A Perri Jewelers v. Department of the Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

INTRODUCTION

The district court affirmed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ (BATF) revocation of Simon Perri’s license to sell firearms for willfully selling firearms to a felon and for falsifying records of firearm sales in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (b)(5), (d)(1), and (m) (1976). We affirm.

FACTS

The Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. §§ 921 et seq., prohibits a licensed firearms dealer (1) from selling any firearm or ammunition unless the licensee records the name of the purchaser, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (b)(5) ; (2) from selling to a felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (d)(1) ; and (3) from knowingly making a false entry in his records, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (m).

The BATF employed Anthony Demara as an informant to investigate licensed firearm dealers in southern Arizona. Demara, a convicted felon, was a prohibited purchaser under the Act of 1968.

On February 8, 1977 Demara entered Perri Jewelers and expressed interest in a Smith & Wesson Model 19 revolver. Perri advised him he must first show a driver’s license and answer “no” to questions on a federal form. The first question asked if the purchaser was under indictment for or had been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment…