CONCORD, N.H. — A New Salem man’s handwritten message to suspected gun smugglers was hardly subtle.
“The ATF is watching u,” a note scribbled on a piece of paper and stuck on a car’s windshield read, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Hampshire.
Douglas Mulligan, 80, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan.
Mulligan was an employee at American Trikes & Motorsports, a motorcycle repair shop in Keene, New Hampshire, and purchased a firearm from a customer on behalf of the store, according to the charges. He had a prior felony conviction and had been warned.
“Doug Mulligan repeatedly disregarded warnings he was prohibited from possessing a firearm, and therefore could not work in a gun store,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas Greco in the statement. “Mulligan used his association with a federal firearm licensee to not only evade restrictions on his own possession of firearms, but to obstruct a federal investigation into other guns being trafficked to prohibited persons.”
He left the note to alert buyers they were under investigation as part of a New Hampshire-to-Canada gun trafficking ring, authorities said.
The charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person provides a maximum prison term of 15 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and not more than three years of supervised release.
Mulligan’s sentencing is set for July 7.