page 1 Eric M. Larson P.O. Box 5497 Takoma Park, Maryland 20913 (301) 270-3450 larsone@erols.com October 29, 1999 Assistant Director Liaison and Public Information Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Washington, D.C. 20226 Dear Director: This letter is an administrative appeal for the deletions in certain documents which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recently released to me. I am writing this letter in this fashion at the direction of Mr. Peter J. Chisholm, who advised me in a letter dated October 19, 1999, bearing symbols 112000 PJC/99-1505/3, that I may submit an administrative appeal. I would like the determination of my Appeal send to me at the above letterhead address. The original response to my initial Freedom of Information Act request is dated June 29, 1999, and I requested additional information in a letter dated July 10, 1999, because it appeared that materials had been redacted but the Document Cover Sheet did not state that any materials had been withheld. In a letter to me dated October 19, 1999, from Mr. Peter J. Chisholm, also described above, states essentially that the materials I have requested were never created and placed in the manual, and that no further information is available. The records which the the appeal concerns are described in the "Quality Review" volume of the National Firearms Act Branch Standard Operating Procedures/User's Manual, and appear to have been redacted from pages 174 to 191 of the foregoing manual, which correspond to Exhibits 11 through 29. As described at various places within the manual, Exhibits 11 through 29 appear to be the written guidance that ATF has used to instruct certain NFA Branch employees on how to define, evaluate and correct errors in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. These include separate instructions for evaluating and amending data on ATF Forms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4467, and other forms. For example, Exhibit 16 is "Reviewing ATF Form 4 within the NFRTR," and Exhibit 24 is "Reviewing an amendment within [sic] based on a report of inspection," which appears to describe procedures for amending the NFRTR as the result of inaccuracies in the NFRTR discovered while inspecting a federally licensed NFA dealer. The foregoing are logical descriptions of activities that NFA Branch clerks would carry out in transferring and registering NFA firearms in various transactions, as well as amending the NFRTR to correct errors discovered during field inspections of federally licensed NFA dealers. page 2 The reason that I am requesting disclosure of this information is to restore public confidence, and the confidence of federally licensed NFA firearms dealers, and others, in ATF's competence as a federal law enforcement agency. This could be done by showing that ATF does, indeed, have valid and reliable internal controls over the NFRTR data system, to ensure that errors are detected and corrected. Significant public concerns about ATF's competence and ingegrity as a federal law enforcement agency were recently manifested by some 7 sworn affidavits that were submitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Divison, copies of which I have included with this letter, in the case John Daniel LeaSure vs. United States of America, Civil No. 2:48cv377, Criminal No. 4:95:cr54. I would strongly urge ATF to consider this evidence in its response to my FOIA appeal. In his October 19, 1999, letter, despite being provided with the above information, Mr. Chisholm has stated that "There is no further information available." I believe that Mr. Chisholm's search for the NFRTR documents I have described may not have been complete, and I have some specific suggestions to make in advising you to look for where these documents or information may be, as follows: 1. Interview Ms. Barbara L. Franklin, an employee of the NFA Branch. As noted in my March 31, 1999, testimony submitted to the House Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations, Ms. Franklin advised Capt. Mont Lamar Mendenhall on May 18, 1998, that an NFA firearm Mr. Mendenhall possessed could not be found in the NFRTR, and requested that Mr. Mendenhall submit a copy of his lawful registration document. It is difficult to imagine that Ms. Franklin did not go through some procedure to try and find Mr. Mendenhall's registration document, or a record of it, before determining that the record was not in the NFRTR. It is also difficult to imagine that Ms. Franklin did not go through some established procedure to enter Mr. Mendenhall's registration document (or a record of it) into the NFRTR. Given the legal "chain-of-evidence" requirements under the law that involved, it is extremely difficult to believe that procedures for entering documents (or a record of them) into the NFRTR is not governed by written procedures. In any case, I believe that Ms. Franklin may be able to advise you about the documents that she consulted in the course of amending Mr. Mendenhall's NFRTR records. 2. In the copy of the "Quality Review" volume of the NFRTR manual that ATF released to me, there is a form which is entitled "QUALITY REVIEWERROR RESOLUTION." According to this form, errors discovered on "Forms 1," "Forms 2," "Forms 3," "Forms 4," "Forms 5," and so forth, which seems to obviously indicate that ATF has determined that errors in the NFRTR exist and has tabulated them. Accordingly, I would respectfully request that you interview two NFA Branch employees who I have personally talked with, Mr. Anton Augurs, Mr. Gary N. Schaible, and Ms. Denise Brown, because Mr. Augurs, Mr Schaible, and Ms. Brown have answered certain of my questions about errors in the NFRTR, and consequently, it is highly probable that they are familiar with written documents or other information that would be responsive to my FOIA request for information about how ATF goes about detecting and correcting errors or adding missing documents (or records of them) back into the NFRTR. page 3 3. Other NFA Branch or Firearms and Explosives Regulatory Division employees may have direct knowedge regarding the foregoing documents or information about these documents, such as: S. Alexander; L. Carswell; J. Chapman; R. Coleman; C. Fisher; D. Henson; E. Jones; L. Harrington; N. Kern; T. Lawrence; D. McConner; T. McNeill, T. Neighbors; W. Shipman; and M. Walker. 4. Interview, by telephone or in person, Ms. Nereida W. Levine, former Chief of the National Firearms Act Branch, who is now apparently an ATF Special Agent in its Houston, Texas, field office. In a letter to me dated January 9, 1997, bearing symbols E:RE:FN:GS, Chief Levine stated, in response to one of my questions: Finally, you asked whether a firearm would be added to the Registry if a person possessed a valid registration that was not in the Registry. The document the person possesses is his or her evidence of registration. It would be added to the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record if the information was not already in the Record. I would note specifically that Ms. Levine's answer to me, regarding what would happen if a person possessed a valid registration that was not in the NFRTR, appears to exactly describe the situation that Ms. Barbara Franklin encountered. The situation that Ms. Franklin encountered, as a testimonial by Capt. Lamar Mendendall to the House Appropriations Subcommittee describes, is that Mr. Mendenhall submitted an ATF Form 5 to the NFA Branch in order to transfer title to an NFA firearm he owns to a gunsmith so the firearm could be repaired, and Ms. Franklin was unable to locate Mr. Mendenhall's registration, or a record of it, in the NFRTR. As Mr. Mendenhall stated, he submitted a copy of his registration and the Form 5 transfer was subsequently approved. It would be unreasonable to assume that Ms. Franklin did not put the Form 5 transfer document and the copy of the Form 4 registration document that Mr. Mendenhall sent to her into the NFRTR system, as well as a record of them (in the NFRTR computer system). Finally, it appears to me that some persons at ATF may be attempting to wrongfully withhold, or conceal, or both, critical information that is needed to evaluate ATF's competency and integrity as a law enforcement agency. The evidence that I have submitted in my various Congressional testimonies, and in the exchanges with ATF regarding the NFRTR manuals, seem to be to go to the heart of providing valid and reliable evidence that ATF has seriously compromised the integrity of a federal law enforcement program, to wit: the management and administration of firearm registration and transfer records in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. I sincerely believe that if you or your staff interview each of the people I have identified above, particularly former NFA Branch Chief Levine, that you will locate the documents I have requested. Thank you. Sincerely, (signed--Eric M. Larson)