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AP: Ex-Blackwater President Faces Possible Indictment Over AK-47s

AP: Ex-Blackwater President Faces Possible Indictment Over AK-47s

The latest legal headache for the company formerly known as Blackwater doesn’t center on dead civilians in Afghanistan or alleged bribes in Iraq, but instead on a couple dozen automatic weapons the company may have illegally held at its Moyock, North Carolina, headquarters.

The AP is reporting that “senior Justice Department officials” are looking at a draft indictment against former Blackwater president Gary Jackson and two other ex-officials following a 2008 raid in which the Feds seized 17 AK-47s from the company’s headquarters.

The case seems to revolve around whether the company, now known as Xe, illegally obtained automatic weapons by claiming it was providing storage for the local sheriff:

Multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the case said investigators are trying to determine if Blackwater obtained the official letterhead of a local sheriff to create a false justification for buying the guns. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Read the whole thing.

AK-47s, Blackwater, Gary Jackson, Xe

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