NYAG details agreement with two gun show operators

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP/WBEN) - State officials say they've reached an agreement with two New York gun show operators to restrict illegal sales.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says Niagara Frontier Collectors of Chautauqua County and NEACA of Saratoga County are adopting procedures that go beyond requirements of the state's gun show law.

At a news conference in Buffalo Thursday, Schneiderman says guns brought to shows by private sellers will be tagged to make it possible to monitor their sales and ensure background checks are performed.

The agreement with the operators follows the Attorney General's eight-month investigation, "Operation Background Bust," which began last year and involved undercover work at six gun shows in Erie, Genesee, Saratoga, Schoharie, Suffolk, and Washington counties. Undercover investigators told 10 gun sellers that they had orders of protection against them and could not pass a background check.  Despite this, all 10 were able to purchase guns at the shows and leave the show grounds without being subjected to a "National Instant Criminal Background Check System" or NICS.

The announcement comes a year after Schneiderman charged 10 sellers with failing to run the checks before making sales at gun shows around New York state. Nine pleaded guilty to misdemeanors. A jury convicted the other.