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http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/jan/12/lowcountry_lawyers_grill_n_y_mayor_civil27393/
Lowcountry lawyers grill N.Y. mayor for civil suit By
Schuyler Kropf (
Contact) The Post and Courier Saturday, January 12, 2008
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was grilled this week by Charleston lawyers who want to know if he bad-mouthed a Summerville gun dealer.
After a day of questioning, it was clear that pawnshop operator Larry Mickalis — who was present at the deposition in New York City — isn't holding back in his defamation suit against the mayor.
Bloomberg spent most of Thursday answering questions for the civil suit, which New York media said was the first time he has done so since being elected.
In 2006, Mickalis sued Bloomberg and New York City for slander, fraud and emotional distress. The suit was filed after his store became one of more than a dozen sellers across the country that New York sued for allegedly allowing weapons to be sold illegally. No fewer than 49 of Mickalis' guns were used in crimes in New York between 1994 and 2001, Bloomberg's lawsuit contends.
In Mickalis' suit, he denies that he broke any law and says the city did shoddy undercover work in trying to prove he didn't follow federal gun sale requirements via a sting operation trying to expose "straw" purchases of guns. A straw purchase is one in which someone with a legal right to buy a gun gets it into the hands of someone who cannot legally own one.
"Contrary to Mr. Bloomberg's and the City of New York's allegations, Mr. Mickalis ... (sells) firearms in strict compliance with all federal and state laws," says the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages.
Reached by phone Friday in New York, one of Mickalis' attorneys said he was surprised by some of the mayor's answers.
"Overall, he knew very little about our client," attorney Justin Kahn said.
The New York Sun newspaper reported Friday that topics during the session ranged from Bloomberg's views on the Second Amendment to whether he intended to run for president. One of Bloomberg's lawyers told the mayor not to state his current political plans, but to speak only of his mind-set in spring 2006, the Sun said after viewing a recording of the deposition.
Bloomberg also was asked about the Second Amendment, and over the objection of a lawyer answered, "I believe the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights gives you the right to keep and bear arms. I also believe courts have held over the years that government does have the authority to limit these rights in situations when the public is in danger. For example, carrying concealed weapons in big cities."
At one point, another of Mickalis' attorneys, Carl Pierce II, invited Bloomberg to have Mickalis arrested if he believed the gun dealer had committed a crime. The mayor did not order any such arrest, the paper reported.
Bloomberg declined the opportunity to apologize to Mickalis, Kahn said.