Salem (NH) police captain arrested for federal tax evasion in gun resale scheme

[Wendell]

Michael Wagner, 48, of Pelham was charged on an indictment unsealed Thursday that alleges he purchased 36 assault rifles using his law enforcement discount at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, resold them at a profit of $33,000, and purposely omitted them from his tax return, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. In a statement sent to the Union Leader, Wagner’s lawyers said the charge revolves around a disputed amount of undeclared taxable income, Wagner’s hobby as a gun enthusiast and Second Amendment advocate, and is the result of a political feud between the Salem town manager and the police department which escalated unnecessarily.
https://www.unionleader.com/news/cri...0873d3e83.html

[paherne]

Good hook. Enjoy the bologna sandwiches, soon to be former Captain! I take LE discounts and buy stuff that normal folks do if I'm going to use it for duty. I can't stand guys that do stuff like this.

[blues]

Good hook. Enjoy the bologna sandwiches, soon to be former Captain! I take LE discounts and buy stuff that normal folks do if I'm going to use it for duty. I can't stand guys that do stuff like this.

I agree with this. However I don't feel any guilt for purchasing, (for myself only), when Glock, for example, makes Blue Label pricing available to retired LEOs or military. I don't think this is what you intended to criticize, however.

But buying in an official capacity for personal gain...that's shameful.

[whomever]

Any insight on why he was charged with tax evasion instead of dealing without a license? I could see that dealing w/o a license would be hard to prove if he had sold a few, but 36 (identical? similar?) rifles, in presumably a fairly short time seems kind of hard to explain.

[blues]

Any insight on why he was charged with tax evasion instead of dealing without a license? I could see that dealing w/o a license would be hard to prove if he had sold a few, but 36 (identical? similar?) rifles, in presumably a fairly short time seems kind of hard to explain.

At a guess, it's probably whichever is less difficult to prove for the prosecuting team...based on the available evidence. (And also to keep it within their jurisdiction.)

But this is merely speculation on my part. They're looking for a win and a quick adios to this guy.