In an effort to win business from the Jordanian government, Blackwater execs gifted Glocks, an M4 rifle, and a shotgun, among other weapons, to the King of Jordan, according to prosecutors. But, say the Feds, the execs then realized they couldn’t account for the weapons — so they falsely told the government that they had bought them as individuals.
In an indictment filed Friday against Blackwater’s former president, Gary Jackson, and four other former Blackwater staffers, prosecutors write that in 2005, the company — now known as Xe Services — was seeking to gain favor with the government of Jordan, in order to boost its chances of doing business there.
From the indictment:
When the King of Jordan came to examine Blackwater/Xe’s training facility [in March 2005] at Moyock, North Carolina, the defendants arranged to present the King and/or his entourage with several firearms as gifts. When the defendants subsequently realized they were unable to account for disposition of the firearms, they falsified four separate Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Form 4473s for submission to federal authorities. The defendants falsely completed the forms to give the appearance that the weapons had been purchased by them as individuals.
Later in the document, prosecutors list the contents of the gift:
: On or about March 19, 2005, five firearms, one Bushmaster M4 rifle,
three Glock handguns, and one Remington shotgun were presented to the King of Jordan and/or his entourage at Blackwater/Xe’s facility in Moyock, North Carolina, as arranged
by defendant GARY JACKSON and others.
Separately, the indictment alleges that Andrew Howell, then Blackwater’s general counsel, told an employee that “informing federal authorities of the existence of approximately 33
unregistered short-barreled rifles then being held at the Moyock facility was ‘not an option’”.
Jackson, Howell, and the other three defendants have been charged with conspiracy to violate firearms laws, false statements and possession of an unregistered firearm.
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