Policies about Fake Stash-House Robbery Stings (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — ATF)

Avinash Samarth filed this request with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the United States of America.
Tracking #

2015-0736

Due April 10, 2015
Est. Completion April 1, 2016
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Avinash Samarth

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any and all memoranda, training materials, guidelines, statements of policy, legal advice, legal opinions, legal memoranda, and legal briefs regarding sting or reverse sting operations involving fictional stash houses.

Both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have used fictional stash houses in sting and reverse sting operations, especially those involving fake robberies. See, e.g., Associated Press, Federal Prosecutors Drop Dozens of Stash House Sting Charges (Jan. 30, 2015), available at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/01/30/us/ap-us-drug-prosecutions-stash-houses.html; Benjamin Weiser, In D.E.A. Sting Operations, Robberies Aren’t Real, But Charges Are, N.Y. Times (Dec. 4, 2014), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/nyregion/in-dea-sting-operations-robberies-arent-real-but-charges-are.html.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not being made for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Avinash Samarth

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — ATF

An interim response, stating the request is being processed.

From:

Good Morning Ms. Avinash Samarth,

I received your email requesting an update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are currently in the process of fulfilling your request. Right now we are at the stage where we have to wait for the appropriate ATF departments to search for and turn over documents responsive to your request. Once these documents have been located and processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal III/Legal Assistant
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2015-0736.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2015-0736.

Thank you for your help.

From:

Good Morning Ms. Avinash Samarth,

I have received your email requesting an update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are currently in the process of fulfilling your request. Right now we are at the stage where we have to wait for the appropriate ATF departments to search for and turn over documents responsive to your request. At this time we have requested an update from that department regarding their search. Once these documents have been located and processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you.
Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal III/Legal Assistant
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2015-0736.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2015-0736.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From:

Good Morning Ms. Avinash Samarth,
I have received your email requesting an update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are currently in the process of fulfilling your request. We are still in the stage where we have to wait for the appropriate ATF departments to search for and turn over documents responsive to your request, if there are any. At this time we have, again, requested an update from that department regarding their search, and do not have a more specific estimated date of completion. Once these documents have been located and processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal III/Legal Assistant
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From:

Good Morning Ms. Avinash Samarth,
I have received your email requesting an update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are in the process of fulfilling your request. We are still in the stage where we have to wait for the appropriate ATF departments to search for and turn over documents responsive to your request, if there are any. At this time we have, again, requested an update from that department regarding their search, and do not have a more specific estimated date of completion. Once these documents have been located and processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. Once we have located any responsive documents it may take 4-6 months to process them. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal III/Legal Assistant
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From:

Good Morning Ms. Avinash Samarth,
I have received your November 30, 2015 email requesting an update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are in the process of fulfilling your request. We are still in the stage where we have to wait for the appropriate ATF departments to search for and turn over documents responsive to your request, if there are any. At this time we have, again, requested an update from that department regarding their search, and do not have a more specific estimated date of completion. Once these documents have been located and processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. Once we have located any responsive documents it may take 4-6 months to process them. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal III/Legal Assistant
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From:

Good Afternoon Ms. Avinash Samarth,

I have received your March 28th, and April 1st emails requesting a status update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are in the process of fulfilling your request. We are at the stage where we have received the possibly responsive documents from the appropriate ATF departments where we requested a search. Once these documents have been processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. As stated in my December email, once we have located any responsive documents it can take 4-6 months to process them. With this in mind I think an estimate for release as sometime between May and June would be a fair estimate as we received the search documents in February. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you and have a great day.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal/Legal Assistant IV
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From:

Good Afternoon Ms. Avinash Samarth,

I have received your March 28th, April 1st, and May 6th emails requesting a status update regarding your Freedom of Information Act request number 2015-0736. We are in the process of fulfilling your request. We are at the stage where we have received the possibly responsive documents from the appropriate ATF departments where we requested a search. Once these documents have been processed you will receive a response, and the releasable documents, if there are any. As stated in my December email, as well as my April email, once we have located any responsive documents it can take 4-6 months to process them. With this in mind I think an estimate for release as sometime between May and June would be a fair estimate as we received the search documents in February. At this time it is looking more like a June release but feel free to check in again at the end of the month and I can provide another update. At this time no further clarification from you is needed. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me at the information included below. Thank you and have a great day.
Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rice
Paralegal/Legal Assistant IV
Contractor, Forfeiture Support Associates
Disclosure Division
Office of Public & Governmental Affairs
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue NE | Washington, DC 20226
T: (202) 648-7375
Elizabeth.Rice@atf.gov<mailto:elizabeth.rice@atf.gov>| www.ATF.gov<http://www.atf.gov/>| ATF Pressroom<http://www.atf.gov/content/contact-us/pressroom>

ATF: At The Frontline Against Violent Crime

From: Muckrock Staff

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Muckrock Staff

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

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