Ex-Deputy Admits Buying Assault Rifles

Ex-deputy admits buying assault rifles for Blackwater
The HamtonRoads.com - November 15, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. - A former deputy pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to using the Camden County Sheriff's Office as a front to buy automatic weapons for the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. Jonathan Worthington, 45, who worked as a Camden deputy and as a firearms instructor for Blackwater, used Sheriff's Office letterhead in spring 2005 to buy 17 AK-47s from an import company known as Century International Arms and 17 M4s from Bushmaster. That resulted in charges of aiding and abetting others by making false statements related to records required of a licensed firearms dealer. As a private firearms dealer, Blackwater could not possess more than two fully automatic weapons. Police agencies, however, are allowed to have automatic weapons. The Camden Sheriff's Office served as the legal buyer, but in reality, Blackwater paid for the weapons and stored them in a secure armory at the company's compound in Camden County, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler said. Camden County, with only 12 full-time deputies at the time, had no need for 34 automatic weapons, Bowler said. After the federal investigation began, some Camden deputies carried M4s "to put in a nice appearance," he said. In June 2008, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized the automatic weapons at the Blackwater compound. Former Blackwater president Gary Jackson, former vice president William Mathews Jr., former general counsel Andrew Howell, former vice president Ana Bundy and Ronald Slezak, who handled federal firearms paperwork, were indicted last year. They face similar charges and are awaiting trial. Worthington is expected to be sentenced in February.

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Former North Carolina deputy pleads guilty to charge related to buying weapons for Blackwater
The Associated Press - November 15, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. — A former North Carolina deputy has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he used the Camden County Sheriff’s Office as a front to buy automatic weapons for the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., reports (http://bit.ly/uzPDSu) that 45-year-old Jonathan Worthington pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court. Worthington was charged with aiding and abetting others by making false statements related to records required of a licensed firearms dealer. He’s expected to be sentenced in February. Several former Blackwater employees face similar charges and are awaiting trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler says the sheriff’s office had no need for the 34 automatic weapons Worthington ordered on sheriff’s office letterhead. Worthington also worked as a firearms instructor for Blackwater, which is now called Xe Services.