Gun-Control Activist Eyed As NRA Spy

Groups Sweep Offices For Wiretaps After Magazine Reveals Alleged Double Agent

(AP)  A gun-control activist who championed the cause for more than a decade and served on the boards of two anti-violence groups is suspected of working as a paid spy for the National Rifle Association, and now those organizations are expelling her and sweeping their offices for bugs.

The suggestion that Mary Lou McFate was a double agent is contained in a deposition filed as part of a contract dispute involving a security firm. The muckraking magazine Mother Jones, in a story last week, was the first to report on McFate's alleged dual identity.

The NRA refused to comment to the magazine and did not respond to calls Tuesday from The Associated Press. Nor did McFate.

The 62-year-old former flight attendant and sex counselor from Sarasota, Fla., is not new to the world of informants.

She infiltrated an animal-rights group in the late 1980s at the request of U.S. Surgical, and befriended an activist who was later convicted in a pipe bomb attack against the medical-supply business, U.S. Surgical acknowledged in news reports at the time. U.S. Surgical had come under fire for using dogs for research and training.

McFate resurfaced in Pennsylvania and has since spent years as an unpaid board member of CeaseFirePA and an organization called States United to Prevent Gun Violence. She also twice pushed unsuccessfully to join the board of the nation's largest gun-control group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"It raises some real concerns with the tactics of the NRA. If they've got one person, maybe they have more. If they've done this dirty trick, what else have they done?" said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, which planned to search its offices for listening devices and computer spyware.

The Brady Campaign and other groups said they are also researching whether McFate's alleged spying constituted a crime.

"Under some circumstances, it could be trespass," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and a former prosecutor. But "if they're open meetings, it may be underhanded and sneaky; it may not be illegal."

At States United, McFate served as federal legislation director, meeting with members of Congress on Capitol Hill and writing letters. Over the years, she also stuffed envelopes, attended rallies and took part in conference calls and strategy sessions.

In retrospect, Helmke said, he now realizes McFate stopped by the Washington office for meetings and conference calls that could have been handled by phone, and perhaps pushed too hard to join the board or lobby Congress.

But as for any secrets she might have been privy to, the gun-control groups said they have little to hide, since they put their message and information about their budgets on the Web.

The allegations against McFate stem from a lawsuit brought against officials with Beckett Brown International, a now-defunct security firm based in Maryland. A former beer distributor who bankrolled the firm accused them of defrauding him.

Boxes of documents filed in the dispute reveal that McFate worked as a subcontractor for Beckett Brown and that the firm's clients included the NRA. And they show that McFate billed the firm for unspecified intelligence-gathering services, submitting among other things a request for a $4,500-a-month retainer in 1999.

The documents also reveal that McFate - that is her maiden name; her married name is Mary Lou Sapone - tried to get daughter-in-law Montgomery Sapone hired by Beckett Brown. Montgomery Sapone worked as an intern at Brady Campaign headquarters in 2003, the gun-control group said.

John Dodd III, the Maryland beer distributor who bankrolled Beckett Brown, told the AP that he did not condone the infiltration of activist groups.

Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire NJ, said he feels betrayed by McFate. Miller's brother, an FBI agent, was shot to death in 1994.

"To have somebody that I consider a friend, have been with dozens of times, shared meals with, treated as a friend, to have her be an employee, a subcontracted spy for the NRA, is just mind-boggling. It's so venal," Miller said. "In the battle of ideas with the gun lobby, we're at a constant disadvantage because we're honest."

Timothy Ward, a former Beckett Brown principal who said in a sworn statement that McFate worked for the firm, declined comment Tuesday through a person who answered the phone at his new company, Chesapeake Strategies Group. The NRA now uses that firm for intelligence-gathering, another Chesapeake official said in a deposition.

The CeaseFirePA leadership plans a vote Friday on whether to expel McFate, a board member for seven years.

"I feel flattered that the NRA would feel that they would have to infiltrate Ceasefire of PA. Obviously, they're hearing our footsteps," said Phil Goldsmith, the group's president. "Frankly, I think it's a waste of their money. We don't deal in state secrets."

[jsklinemn]

This story reads funny... more like strange. You''d think that the author of the story has a personal bias towards gun control.

This is not a new thing as spy/counter spy has been going on for centuries. How do you think wars are sometimes won?!!

Face it. There is a substantive liberal left that believes you have NO RIGHTS what so ever to do many things; owning or using a gun being one of them. Then; there is the right, which believes; rightfully so based on constitutional law, that you can own and use a firearm.

Face it. If you want to remove guns from society; nullify the constitution and remove all the rights of a free society and then you can get your wish.

I believe in that constitution and all it stands for. My Dad, and his dad fought for that constitution and all it stands for. If you want to come in here and try and take that constitution away from me, your going to run into problems with that!

[slim1h2o]

There are more vehicle deaths caused by accidents, than gun deaths. And that''s not to mention the car deaths caused by vehicular homicides either.

Each year!

[petesis]

I can''t see how anyone could be surprised by this.

[whiskyrokkr]

Sounds like she knows what she is doing. Good for her.

[bluestardad]

BOOGY MAN!

POLITICS OF FEAR!

[emmer94]

Try reading the reports of increased homicides in London, where cops are for the first time having to carry weapons (Brits have some of the toughest gun control laws). As always, the news media will twist the facts and especially the stats (as a person who took stats in college and found out how surveys can biased to start with) to make us all believe what they think we should. The anti gun folks are just upset because they didn''t think of it first. But then, it might be amusing to go to one of their meetings to listen to their "reasoning".

[jmurrieta1]

The NRA may once have been dedicated to gun ownership rights, but since their big smear of Kerry, they''ve become nothing but an attack dog for the Neocons.

Of course George Bush, the man they did so much to help elect, had his DOJ file an amicus brief in the recent Supreme Court "Heller" case--in support of the city of Washington DC to ban handguns. And John McCain worked in favor of a gun control measure in a state he had no connection to--Oregon. The NRA supports McCain.

So the NRA backs gun controllers when they are right-wingers. They are nothing but a shill for the fascists, and could care less about freedom.

[antoniof123]

While I am a gun owner and beleive we have the right too. I now am so glad that I left the NRA years ago this is the worst and hurts us gun owners. The right wing should be proud of its idiots that are running the show.

[extremophil]

So she''s a spy? Why doesn''t CeaseFirePA just take an unregistered pistol and shoot her?

[hotwitch]

Now that the anti-gun media has lost the debate constitutionally, they try to bash the NRA with this non-story. Like, who cares? There are spies everywhere,- political, industrial, even at CBS...

[usclimey]

Try reading the reports of increased homicides in London, where cops are for the first time having to carry weapons (Brits have some of the toughest gun control laws).

Posted by Emmer94

You''re wrong. Gun deaths are down this year. See www.bbc.co.uk on Monday. Only the Special Branch police carry guns, and they check them out at the beginning of the day and back in at night. In the UK your chances of being killed with a gun is 1 in 1 million. Here it is 1 in ten thousand. God bless the NRA.

[usclimey]

I figure if the NRA feels the need to spy on anti-gun groups, they''ve got to be doing something right.

[tootall10142]

Another filler story.Most gun owners dont belong to any asociation.I w3as ataacked on my job by a meth head due to a mistaken identity he struck in the face with a piece of pipe. i had never seen the man before in my life but because i looked like someone he had a problem with it cost him his life and his daughter a father.the inquiry lasted 20 minutes, enogh said.

[god-is-true]

Sounds like a Democrats campaign trick if you ask me

[talkingham]

Bush''s FBI and CIA are there too. The more the dirtier I guess.

[rwassel]

As an avid hunter, I feel bad that the NRA has been hijacked by right-wing nutjobs with a political agenda. But then again, the same could be said about the Republican Party.

Does anyone remember when they stood for fiscal conservatism, limited engagement in foreign affairs, and limited interference by the federal government in personal affairs?

Now, the party is a sad disgrace of what it used to be. Lincoln, Goldwater, and even Reagan must be rolling in their graves right now.

[anvilofsteel]

rwassel at 10:11 AM - no, because Im not old enough to have experienced the pre "conversion" of the GOP and Reagan was not much better than Bush sr or Jr. he was just a better speaker. he had 2 recessions himself. He coveted ''trickle down'' economics which basically entails the Govt handing billions to already rich and powerful people and HOPING a few bucks ends up with the masses of millions in need.
nice.

[anvilofsteel]

mike071067 at 10:17 AM - i always find it completely ironic that Pro Gun NRA supporters call people names and insult them who are for less guns on the streets and less Deaths... mostly of their children, and not extreme either, they have no problem with hunting and target shooting weapons, just the ones that are only designed for as much killing as possible.

Yet the ones calling them names are all for as much of a deadly arsenal in their homes as they can get.
Constantly paranoid that if they abide the law, the govt will someday still invade them and capture them or something stupid like that.

[minuteman-5]

Posted by AnvilofSteel at 10:22 AM

When do criminals on "the street" follow the law ?

Is it time to restrict your free speech, since you are all for attacking constitutional rights, it''s time for the speech ban, assault speech ban, right lib ?

[minuteman-5]

Posted by rafterman1 at 10:25 AM

They can keep an eye on anyone they want to, are we to deny your right to "keep an eye" on your house or surroundings, or people around you ?

[newsjunky5]

They should have a photo of her.

[oneamerican_]

More pot-induced paranoia from the far-left liberals.

Or, as they normally do, it may be the gun control freaks are making up a big story to try to illicit sympathy for their recent loss of the D.C. gun ban.

In any case, liberals are not to be trusted to tell the truth.

[antoniof123]

Does anyone remember when they stood for fiscal conservatism, limited engagement in foreign affairs, and limited interference by the federal government in personal affairs?

Now, the party is a sad disgrace of what it used to be. Lincoln, Goldwater, and even Reagan must be rolling in their graves right now.

Posted by rwassel at 10:11 AM : Aug 06, 2008

Unfortunatly that is a myth from McCarthy around 1950 the Republicans have become more and more nut case. While there have been many who stood up to the likes of Regan (Ron Paul) and to Bush (Hagle and Snow) they were called traitors by the GOP for speaking the truth.

The NRA has lost it''s sense of direction and they are only interested in keeping the religious right wing nuts in power.

One other point fiscal in not conservative or liberal. It is responsible that is fiscal responsible, look at the banks they are run by conservatives and the mess that has occured or GM so it is not true that a conservative is fiscaly responsibe. But both conservatieves and liberals can be fiscaly responsible. Another myth shattered.

Stop the division and move towards the unity or perish.

[newsjunky5]

"They can keep an eye on anyone they want to, are we to deny your right to "keep an eye" on your house or surroundings, or people around you ? "
--------------------------------------------
But can I tell you I''m from the water company/power company falsely to gain access to your house? What if I''m being paid by your competition and claim I''m with airport security (civilian position) to see what''s inside your briefcase? There is a lot of ground between "keeping an eye" and fraud/malfeasance.

[stevex47]

Typical lying, corrupt, paranoid reich wing nutjob from the NRA.

Amazing how people fall for their propoganda.

[stevex47]

noamerican,
"In any case, liberals are not to be trusted to tell the truth. "

Again, amazing how it''s a nutjob lying about their job and intentions, yet it''s a nutjob calling the liberal''s the lier.

Kinda ironic, but not surprising. Typical of everything the nutjobs say...you remember, the whole "family values, fiscal responsibility, WMD''s, toe tapping, wide stance" folks.

EVERYTHING they say is a lie.

[rwassel]

"liberals are not to be trusted to tell the truth."

Does it make you upset to know that Jesus Christ, our founding fathers, and Abraham Lincoln were all liberals?

[rwassel]

Ironic isn''t it that our country was founded by rebellious liberals who fought against the conservative faction who wanted to remain a part of England.

[fedup_w_pols-2009]

You''''re wrong. Gun deaths are down this year. See www.bbc.co.uk on Monday. Only the Special Branch police carry guns, and they check them out at the beginning of the day and back in at night. In the UK your chances of being killed with a gun is 1 in 1 million. Here it is 1 in ten thousand. God bless the NRA.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by usclimey


The year is not over yet for one thing. Plus aren''t the now considering a ban on KNIVES as well since more people are being stabbed instead? Why yes, yes they are. We are not Britain and the people who wish to strip us of our rights will also do anything to take them away. Why should it be so suprising to find out people with rights will go to any length to keep them after all they went through to get them in the first place. You want gun control move to the UK, otherwise shutup or come and get the guns already. Something tells me that last idea is not one any of you anti-gunners care to lose your life attempting.

[newsjunky5]

"Does it make you upset to know that Jesus Christ, our founding fathers, and Abraham Lincoln were all liberals? "
------------------------------

Funny how that happened. The conservative approach is to say moderate positions are liberal. But by living for the moment and pushing the center away, they loose Jesus, Lincoln, and the Founding Fathers.

[three-o-six]

I just cut NRA another check. I will gladly help them pay for spies within the anti-gun groups. In their magazines they often say "This is the real aganda of such and such group". I had often wondered "How did thy know that". Well I know now! Keep up the good work NRA.

[summarex]

I would be happy to spy for the NRA or for any organization that conducts research using animals in order to make life better for people.
Give the girl a medal!

[TommyCraig]

"Does it make you upset to know that Jesus Christ, our founding fathers, and Abraham Lincoln were all liberals"?
Posted by rwassel at 10:52 AM : Aug 06, 2008
I guess it would depend on what you have defined as a "liberal"?
If you are saying one who goes against the perceived norm, ok.
But, if you are saying that Jesus believed in today''s defined term of "liberal", I disagree.
It seems that today''s "liberal" (most of which I have met are self-proclaimed pacificst) generally believes that society should lack certain rules and responsibilities. They rally around the "right" for abortions and are very avid about promoting "rights" for *** (even though they have the same individual rights as everyone else). An atheistic marxist-socialist society is their dream utopia (which would require everyone to be brain-washed and to loose any sense of individuality). And in order to be a good liberal, one must dislike and rage against capitalism as well as have a great distaste for the military.
This doesn''t sound like Jesus or Abe Lincoln to me. Remember, Abe Lincoln burned the south in order to make war so offensive that the desire will be no more.

[sistatee-2009]

What useful intel could the NRA possibly gather from a group of imbeciles like the Bradys?

[jsmithcsa]

Is there any proof of this, or are we killing her reputation (and threatening legal action) based on an allegation?

[jimfinster]

Isn''t it interesting how many Christians are in the NRA?

What would Jesus do? Think he would own guns?

[yellow651]

I find the thought that Jesus was a liberal laughable. He was the most conservative man of his time, demanding that the religious organization of his time return to its original teachings and doing away with its high-tax high-spend ways. He preached personal responsibility in the strongest terms.

[greybeardvet]

What else would you expect from the deceitful *** that control the NRA? You can bet your sweet *** that right now there is a frantic search for a scapegoat. Will they blame an underling? Will they claim it was done for national security reasons? Will they tell us they were only defending the Second Amendment? It should be interesting to see how their slimy mouthpieces like Ted Nugent and Rush Limbaugh try to spin it.

[TommyCraig]

Jim Finster,
Do you believe that you have the right to defend yourself?
If an attacker kicks your door down and is a threat to you and your family, what are you going to do?
You must have the capability to defend yourself and your family.
I am not an NRA member, but in some ways understand why they don''t give an inch on gun laws. A great example is DC. Banning pistols and if one owns a shotgun, it must be disassembled in order to be legal...Who''s interest does this serve?

[newsjunky5]

"What would Jesus do? Think he would own guns?"
------------------------------
I think the question here is would he take your gun away, while keeping his?

[txgrouch2006]

Funny. The Nazis and the Soviets also infiltrated legal groups to spy on them. In fact, the Weimar government had sent Hitler undercover to spy on the German Workers Party
Posted by rafterman1 at 11:32 AM : Aug 06, 2008

YOU LOSE! The first one to compare an opponent to a Nazi HAS RUN OUT OF IDEAS.

[txgrouch2006]

I don''''t want my rights as a responsible gun owner to be associated with spying or any other potentially illegal activity.

Posted by diatreme at 11:32 AM : Aug 06, 2008

HAR, HAR, HAR! AS IF you''re a gun owner, or even an NRA member.

If the news media did this, it would be called an "UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION."

Guess what - THE NRA IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT. They are a group of private citizens, so there is no law against it. JUST LIKE THE NEWS MEDIA CAN DO IT.

[mswolfestock]

These anti-gun idiots should get over themselves and get real jobs. If they don''t want to own firearms, then fine, they don''t have to. But they keep forgetting that right this minute the rest of us have the legal right to own weapons, thanks in part to the efforts of the NRA.

I''m grateful to the NRA for supporting our right to bear arms, protect ourselves, hunt for food, and enjoy recreational shooting (sporting clays, skeet, etc).

[txgrouch2006]

What would Jesus do? Think he would own guns?
Posted by jimfinster at 11:25 AM : Aug 06, 2008

Would Jesus approve of abortion?

[txgrouch2006]

We all lose when spying illegally is applauded by a significant part of the population.
Posted by rafterman1 at 11:42 AM : Aug 06, 2008

Put your hysteria back in its holster. THE NRA IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT. They are a group of private citizens, they have the same rights as a news organization.

If the news media did this, it would be called an "undercover investigation." Do you compare the news media to Nazis when they gather evidence this way?

[txgrouch2006]

===Would Jesus approve of abortion?===
Posted by txgrouch2006

Probably not, but our party isn''''t the one claiming Jesus as one of ours like you Repubs do.
Posted by rafterman1 at 11:46 AM : Aug 06, 2008

Thanks for agreeing with me. So, I guess Jesus wasn''t much of a liberal after all.

[ken1dall]

%u201DIdeas are more powerful than guns. We would not let people have guns, why should we let them have ideas%u201D?
Joseph Stalin

[txgrouch2006]

Depends how they do it. Some of their methods have been pretty slimey in the past.
Posted by rafterman1 at 11:51 AM : Aug 06, 2008

SKWEEEEEK! That was a tight squeeze for you, wasn''t it? HAR, HAR, HAR! Nicely done.

[jimfinster]

Isn''''t it interesting how many Christians are in the NRA?

What would Jesus do? Think he would own guns?

[meanbiker]

Shoot her.