A former eastern Iowa police chief has pled guilty to bundling deposits from his business, to conceal gun sales.
Michael Gabriel, the former police chief in Williamsburg, ran a business called Gabe’s Gun Shop in Williamsburg. Federal agents raided the business and Gabriel’s home last year and seized over $345,000 in cash. Agents seized another $117,000 that was in the gun shop’s bank account.
Gabriel has admitted in federal court that the gun shop’s bank deposits were bundled so no deposit was more than $10,000, avoiding any reporting requirements. Gabriel has been convicted of one count of illegally structuring monetary transactions.
Gabriel has agreed to forfeit nearly $375,000 to the government. He faces a half a million dollar fine on the charge and the possibility of up to five years’ probation, but no prison time.
Gabriel served as Williamsburg’s police chief for three decades before retiring in May of 2007. According to prosecutors, the illegal cash bundling activity in Gabriel’s business started a few months after his retirement.
The website for Gabe’s Gun Shop describes it as a family-owned business, run by Cody and Nick Gabriel. They are Michael Gabriel’s sons.