Drugs dealers looking to profit off Obama's gun ban?

[Speedlace]

Last paragraph:

Twelve arrested in prescription drug ring in St. Tammany Parish

Twelve people have been arrested by St. Tammany Parish authorities in connection with a prescription-drug fraud ring.

A number of rifles and handguns have been confiscated by investigators.

John and Laura Cassisa, of 405 Hickory Drive in Slidell, were identified by authorities as the alleged ringleaders.

The couple are accused of scanning legitimate prescriptions into a computer and altering them so that they bore the names and DEA numbers of out-of-state doctors. They would then sell the prescriptions, which were for various drugs including methadone and hydrocodone, to the other 10 members of the ring, authorities said.

The couple sold hundreds of prescriptions for about $200 to $250 each, Capt. Will Hart said. It is unclear whether the other members of the group then brought the pills back to the Cassisas, sold them or used them themselves, though it was likely a combination of all three, Hart said.

A local pharmacist called authorities in July after becoming suspicious of a prescription for 400 methadone pills, more than four times the amount on a typical prescription. The Sheriff's Office then set up surveillance on members of the group.

All 12 members of the ring were busted in a round-up that began at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators found 26 illegal guns, ammo, about $7,000 in cash and prescription pills at the Cassisas home.

Investigators believe John Cassisa had purchased the guns, which include military-style rifles, as an investment, Sheriff Jack Strain said. He believed that President Barack Obama would soon outlaw firearms, allowing him to turn a profit if he illegally sold the weapons after they were banned, Strain said.

Stay with NOLA.com for more on this story.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/twelve_arrested_in_drugfraud_r.html

 

[whbonney26]

Glad they got them.

 

[artabr]

What made the guns illegal other than being in the possession of the dealer?

"Investigators found 26 illegal guns, ammo, about $7,000 in cash and prescription pills at the Cassisas home."

Were they all class III ? Were they stolen?

Just a question for the press.



Art

 

[XD-GEM]

This article leave out the fact that Cassisa was a felon and hence any gun in his possesion is illegal - or more properly, it would be illegal for him to have ANY gun.

 

[highstandard40]

What made the guns illegal other than being in the possession of the dealer?

I have often wondered about this. In this case, if the person arrested was also in possession of drugs, I'm sure that makes it illegal. Or if he is a convicted felon, etc. But it is a term that is thrown about freely. I HATE THAT TERM.

You've heard the commercials on TV and radio "report illegal guns".
What the hell is that?????
I think it is a term used to give a negative connotation to guns in the public eye. Just like "assault weapon" or "automatic weapon" If we don't know what an "illegal" weapon is, how is the general public supposed to know.
Maybe it's intended to be that way. Get's anybody who has a gun reported to the police by some nut job who see's you with it.

 

[artabr]

I have often wondered about this. In this case, if the person arrested was also in possession of drugs, I'm sure that makes it illegal. Or if he is a convicted felon, etc. But it is a term that is thrown about freely. I HATE THAT TERM.

You've heard the commercials on TV and radio "report illegal guns".
What the hell is that?????
I think it is a term used to give a negative connotation to guns in the public eye. Just like "assault weapon" or "automatic weapon" If we don't know what an "illegal" weapon is, how is the general public supposed to know.
Maybe it's intended to be that way. Get's anybody who has a gun reported to the police by some nut job who see's you with it.

Exactly. They say "illegal weapon" but other than Class III / NFA type laws, the only way a firearm becomes "illegal" is through the actions of someone who was in possession of the gun, not the gun itself.


Art

 

[WHEELER]

assult wepuns

 

[smith625]

!2 less scumbags on the street, kudos to the po po that made this case.

 

[LACamper]

Only one downside. All of those 'illegal' weapons will be turned in razor blades... wouldn't you love to have a chance to buy those at auction?

 

[Speedlace]

This article leave out the fact that Cassisa was a felon and hence any gun in his possesion is illegal - or more properly, it would be illegal for him to have ANY gun.

They mention that Cassisa is a felon in the updated story and show vid of deputies saying that Cassisa is a felon.

Click For VID

Prescription drug ring investigation brings arrests of 12 in St. Tammany Parish

A Slidell couple was allegedly at the center of a 12-person ring that used hundreds of digitally altered prescriptions to score thousands of doses of prescription drugs in the past year, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office investigators said Wednesday.

John and Laura Cassisa, of 405 Hickory Drive in Slidell, used some of the profits from their drug ring to buy firearms, which they considered a wise investment due to their belief that the federal government would soon ban gun ownership, authorities said.

Deputies rounded up the Cassisas and their accomplices about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday after watching the group for more than a month, Sheriff Jack Strain said.

"This shows the desperation these people will go to get their hands on these drugs, " Strain said. "With these arrests we are trying to bring attention to the problem."
John Cassisa

The yearlong operation began to unravel in early July, when a pharmacist called the Sheriff's Office to report a man, Dillon Sanders, trying to fill a prescription for 400 Methadone pills, said Capt. Will Hart, commander of the Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force. Typical prescriptions for the drug, an opioid often used to wean people off other drugs, call for between 30 and 90 pills, Hart said.

Investigators began watching Sanders after the call and eventually worked their way back to the Cassisas.
Laura Cassisa

Investigators learned the couple had scanned a legitimate prescription into their computer and then digitally altered it, changing the Drug Enforcement Agency license number, Hart said. The original prescription was written by a doctor who had practiced in Louisiana but left the state in 2003, and the forgeries still bore his name and former address, Hart said.

Any pharmacist who called the contact number listed on the pad would get Laura Cassisa's cell phone, Hart said.

The Cassisas produced hundreds of these false prescriptions for drugs such as hydrocodone and Methadone and then sold them to the other members of the ring in exchange for between $200 and $250 in cash and a percentage of the pills, Hart said.

During Wednesday morning's bust, deputies found 26 guns, boxes of ammo, about $7,000 in cash and prescription pills in the Cassisas' home, Strain said. The weapons include military-style rifles, sniper rifles, a shotgun and an assortment of handguns that included pink-handled revolvers and a purple derringer.

John Cassisa apparently bought the guns as an investment, Strain said, based on the belief that President Barack Obama would soon "take all the weapons" and make his purchases more valuable.

Cassisa, who pleaded guilty to forging prescriptions four years ago, could not legally own the firearms because he is a convicted felon.

The Cassisas' young daughter was released to the custody of her grandparents, Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said.

John Cassisa, 38, was booked with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of Methadone with intent to distribute, possession of Adderall with intent to distribute, possession of hydrocodone with intent to distribute, possession of Xanax with intent to distribute, possession of Soma with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm in the presence of drugs, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of drugs in the presence of a child.

Laura Cassisa, 23, was booked with being a principal to the acquisition of drugs by fraud.

Ten others were arrested as part of the investigation, which involved agents from State Police and the Food and Drug Administration:

-- Christopher Klingbeil, 32, of 406 Joseph St., Slidell, was booked with 43 counts of obtaining drugs by fraud, 42 counts of drug possession, possession of a legend drug without a prescription and obtaining a legend drug by fraud.

-- Sanders, 26, of 804 Pearl St. Slidell, was booked with 23 counts each of obtaining drugs by fraud and drug possession.

-- Blake Barre, 23, of 704 Messena Drive, Mandeville, was booked with four counts of drug possession, five counts of obtaining drugs by fraud, possession of a legend drug without a prescription and obtaining a legend drug by fraud.

-- Paul Dusek, 28, 467 Hickory Drive, Slidell, was booked with five counts each of obtaining drugs by fraud and drug possession.

-- Jeremy Couste, 22, of 70547 Louisiana 41, Pearl River, was booked with four counts of drug possession and three counts of obtaining drugs by fraud.

-- Janet Inabinet, 52, of 23075 Lowe Davis Road, near Covington, was booked with 11 counts each of drug possession and obtaining drugs by fraud.

-- David Inabinet, 35, of 1402 N. Causeway Blvd., Apt 404, Mandeville, was booked with two counts of drug possession, obtaining drugs by fraud and nine counts of issuing worthless checks.

-- Meghan Faust, 25, who was already in the St. Tammany Parish jail during the roundup, was booked with 10 counts of obtaining drugs by fraud and attempting to obtain drugs by fraud.

-- Jodi Ratliff, 27, who was already in the parish jail, was booked with three counts of obtaining drugs by fraud.

-- Bobby Perniciaro, 33, who is in jail in Mississippi, was booked with obtaining drugs by fraud.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/twelve_arrested_in_drugfraud_r.html

 

[leVieux]

This is part of organized liberalism's efforts to add additional stigma to owning a gun.
The media will repeat a term endlessly, without questioning it.
Example: "tarmac"; I have been a pilot over 40 years and have never see a tarmac surface on any airport. Yet, our media continue to use the term as though it were synonymous with "airport ramp surface".
So, now, almost all guns received by police will become "illegal guns", without question and without regard for facts.
The term "Mainstream Media" is an oxymoron.

 

[Kraut]

Only one downside. All of those 'illegal' weapons will be turned in razor blades... wouldn't you love to have a chance to buy those at auction?

It's not unknown for usable seized weapons to be repurposed by a department upon completion of a case. Many of our "red" guns for training, and many of our "blue" Simunitions guns, came to the academy from the evidence vaults. I even gave two guns (Jennings/Bryco with broken firing pin and cracked slide, once upon a time I didn't know not to buy Jennings/Bryco) to the academy for use as "red" guns. I don't know what STPSO's policy is in this area, but I imagine they would see them as usable resources and make the most they can out of them.