Las Vegas man accused in weapons plot

A Las Vegas man appeared before a federal judge Thursday after authorities accused him of conspiring with an active-duty Navy SEAL and others to traffic machine guns and other weapons smuggled from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Authorities said Andrew Kaufman of Las Vegas and two other men sold 18 machine guns and 14 other firearms this year to an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent.

"What we have here is simply a case of greed at any cost," Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Smith said.

An unidentified co-conspirator who cooperated with the investigation told authorities the machine guns were smuggled into the United States by special forces personnel returning from the war zones.

A criminal complaint in Las Vegas charges Kaufman, 36; Nicholas Bickle, 33, of San Diego; and Richard Paul, 34, of Durango, Colo.; each with one count of conspiracy. All were arrested Wednesday in the cities where they live. Smith said prosecutors plan to present the case to a federal grand jury and seek additional charges, including some related to distributing explosive materials.

Kaufman made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr., who ordered him held in custody pending trial. The prosecutor argued that Kaufman poses both a flight risk and a possible danger to the community.

Smith said the defendant is under indictment for embezzlement in Nye County and "has failed to appear in almost every case he's ever had."

The prosecutor said Kaufman uses marijuana on a consistent basis and abuses oxycodone, a prescription painkiller.

Also, Kaufman travels frequently and has a ticket on an upcoming flight to Costa Rica, Smith told the judge.

The prosecutor further argued that Kaufman could face as long as 20 years in prison if convicted on all expected charges.

Smith said members of the conspiracy threatened the person who is cooperating with authorities, but the prosecutor described other conduct in the criminal case as the most troubling.

He said Bickle, a petty officer 1st class and a member of the elite SEALs, smuggled more than 100 firearms into the United States when returning from duty overseas. They included machine guns that were sold for $1,300 to $2,400 each and pistols sold for $300 each. Quoting naval officials, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Bickle, a lifelong friend of Paul, has deployed to Iraq twice with a West Coast-based SEAL team.

"It appears that a couple hundred thousand dollars was made by the conspiracy in the past year or so," Smith said.

He said evidence shows the defendants did not care whether their untraceable machine guns wound up in Mexico or on the streets of Las Vegas.

Search warrants served after the defendants' arrests turned up five pounds of plastic explosive, blasting caps and grenades, Smith said. In Kaufman's home, investigators found nine firearms and about $26,000 cash, Smith said.

"He has the means and the motive to flee," Smith argued.

Las Vegas attorney Ben Nadig, who has been retained by Kaufman, said the cash came from a relative to pay for his embezzlement defense. Nadig said he will represent Kaufman in both cases.

The attorney said Kaufman had a plane ticket to Costa Rica because he and his sister plan to open an eco-tourism business there.

Foley said it's not clear whether Kaufman, who describes himself as an insurance consultant, has any legitimate, verifiable employment.

Kaufman lives in Las Vegas with his fiancee, his 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and two nieces.

According to court papers, a confidential informant told the ATF about the firearms trafficking, and on June 22, the informant and an undercover ATF agent went to the co-conspirator's home in Las Vegas and bought four semiautomatic rifles. While not naming him, the criminal complaint describes the co-conspirator as having been convicted of felony drug trafficking in 1998 and of facing a pending state felony charge involving domestic battery and robbery.

According to the federal criminal complaint, on July 5, the agent asked the co-conspirator about buying several "military" machine guns, and the man said he had a friend with access to machine guns from the "military in the Middle East."

On July 7, the agent bought two machine guns for $4,500 from the co-conspirator. One gun carried Iraqi military markings. According to the criminal complaint, the co-conspirator "said that the person who had access to the weapons is a U.S. Navy SEAL and is 'very disciplined.' "

The co-conspirator said he had gone shooting with the group in the desert outside Las Vegas. Authorities later learned he gave proceeds of the sale to Paul and Bickle at Kaufman's home.

On July 22, the agent bought two more machine guns from the co-conspirator, who told him that "he was one of four individuals in business together" and that they already had sold 60 of their 84 machine guns. One of the guns bought that day had Iraqi military markings.

On Aug. 16, ATF agents confronted the co-conspirator. According to the complaint, the co-conspirator said that the group had smuggled into the United States about 80 AK-47 assault rifles from Iraq and Afghanistan and that "according to the other members of the organization, this was possible because Navy SEALs are not searched when returning from deployments."

Two days later, the co-conspirator bought two AK-47s from Kaufman for $4,800 while under the supervision of law enforcement. Kaufman told him that Bickle was then helping with a movie filming in Chicago. Authorities later learned that Bickle was a consultant on the set of "Transformers 3."

The ATF made undercover purchases of machine guns from Paul in September and in October, according to the criminal complaint. Paul appeared before a judge in Colorado on Thursday .

Bickle is scheduled to appear before a judge in San Diego this morning.

Navy officials told the San Diego newspaper that returning troops must turn in their gear and that Navy ships and planes are boarded by customs officers on their return. The SEAL command in Coronado, Calif., said it is cooperating with civilian authorities and is evaluating its policies.

"It's definitely in the review process right now," Lt. Frank Magallon told the Union-Tribune.

With the ATF, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Las Vegas police participated in the investigation.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.