ASSEMBLY, No. 1143
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman COHEN
An Act concerning the crime of leader of firearms trafficking network and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A person is a leader of a firearms trafficking network if he conspires with others as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager, to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully manufacture, transport, ship, sell or dispose of any firearm. Leader of firearms trafficking network is a crime of the first degree .
As used in this section: "leader of a firearms trafficking network" means a person who occupies a position of authority or control over other persons in a scheme or organization of illegal firearms manufacturing, transporting, shipping or selling and who exercises that authority or control over others involved in the scheme or organization.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:43-3, the court may also impose a fine not to exceed $500,000.00 or five times the value of the firearms involved, whichever is greater.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8, a conviction of leader of firearms trafficking network shall not merge with the conviction for any offense which is the object of the conspiracy. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the court from imposing an extended term pursuant to N.J.S.2C:43-7; nor shall this section be construed in any way to preclude or limit the prosecution or conviction of any person for conspiracy under N.J.S.2C:5-2, or any prosecution or conviction for weapons offenses under the provisions of chapter 39 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, N.J.S.2C:41-2 (racketeering activities) or subsection g. of N.J.S.2C:5-2 (leader of organized crime).
It shall not be necessary in any prosecution under this section for the State to prove that any intended profit was actually realized. The trier of fact may infer that a particular scheme or course of conduct was undertaken for profit from all of the attendant circumstances, including but not limited to the number of persons involved in the scheme or course of conduct, the actor's net worth and his expenditures in relation to his legitimate sources of income, the amount of firearms involved, or the amount of cash or currency involved.
It shall not be a defense to a prosecution under this section that the firearms were brought into or transported in this State solely for ultimate distribution or dispensing in another jurisdiction; nor shall it be a defense that any profit was intended to be made in another jurisdiction.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill creates the crime of leader of a firearms trafficking network. A person is a leader of a firearms trafficking network if he conspires with others as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully manufacture, transport, ship, sell or dispose of any firearm.
As used in the bill, leader of a firearms trafficking network means a person who occupies a position of authority or control over other persons in a scheme or organization of illegal firearms manufacturing, transporting, shipping or selling and who exercises that authority or control over others involved in the scheme or organization. This definition includes the status or position of the defendant as a material element of the crime. This provision of the bill conforms to the New Jersey Supreme Court decision in State v. Alexander, 136 N.J.563 (1994) concerning the drug kingpin statute (N.J.S.2C:35-3). The court held that the status or position of the defendant should be a material element of the crime. This bill is modeled on the provisions of that statute.
Under the provisions of the bill, being the leader of a firearms trafficking network would be a crime of the first degree. The court may also impose a fine not to exceed $500,000 or five times the value of the firearms involved, whichever is greater, in addition to the fines and restitution that may be imposed under current law.
The bill provides that the conviction of leader of a firearms trafficking network would not merge with the conviction for any offense which is the object of the conspiracy. The bill would not prohibit the court from imposing an extended term pursuant to N.J.S.2C:43-7; nor would the bill preclude or limit the prosecution or conviction of any person for conspiracy, or any prosecution or conviction for weapons offenses under the provisions of chapter 39 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, racketeering activities or leader of organized crime.
Under the provisions of the bill, the trier of fact may infer that a particular scheme or course of conduct was undertaken for profit from all of the attendant circumstances. It would not be a defense that the firearms were brought into or transported in this State solely for ultimate distribution or dispensing in another jurisdiction; nor would it be a defense that any profit was intended to be made in another jurisdiction.
Creates the crime of leader of firearms trafficking network.