Prosecutors said Giovanni Tilotta worked with Sheriff's Department Capt. Marco Garmo and others to make "straw purchases": falsely claiming to be the buyers of firearms while actually purchasing the guns on behalf of others, including the prominent San Diego jeweler Leo Hamel.
Former Sheriff’s Captain Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Gun Deals and Corruption
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NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 12, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego County Sheriff’s Captain Marco Garmo was sentenced to two years in prison today for years of unlawful firearms transactions and for an array of corrupt conduct relating to unlicensed marijuana dispensaries operating in his former jurisdiction.
In pronouncing sentence, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said that Garmo’s conduct demonstrated arrogance reaching a level where Garmo was “almost becoming a mob boss of sorts” in picking winners and losers and dispensing unlawful favors to friends and family.
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Updated on March 12, 2021 at 5:47 pm
A two-year prison sentence was handed down Friday for a former San Diego County sheriff s captain who pleaded guilty to running an illegal arms-trafficking operation in which he bought and resold guns available only to law enforcement.
Marco Garmo, 52, the former captain of the sheriff s Rancho San Diego station and a 27-year member of the department, illegally purchased and resold off roster firearms, which may be purchased by members of law enforcement, but not the general public, according to the U.S. Attorney s Office.
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