EX Glock VP going to Court for Stealing from the Company

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by BTPost, Feb 20, 2012.


  1. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Ex-Glock attorney accused of stealing millions
    by GREG BLUESTEIN Associated Press
    ATLANTA —

    The vice president of Glock Inc. confessed nine years ago to the company's founder that he and another top lieutenant had been stealing millions from the gun maker, later telling investigators there was so much cash flying around that it seemed like "Monopoly money."
    The executive, Peter Manown, was sentenced to 10 years probation after pleading guilty to theft and is now set to be the government's star witness against the man he says was his accomplice, one-time Glock attorney Paul Jannuzzo.
    Jannuzzo is set to go to trial Tuesday on theft and racketeering charges.
    Jannuzzo's trial threatens to expose new details about the dirty underbelly of the privately-held international firearms manufacturer, which bases its U.S. headquarters in the quiet west Atlanta suburb of Smyrna. In a 2007 interview with investigators, Manown details internal tension among executives and claimed he was able to exploit loose financial practices at the gunmaker, which makes millions selling firearms to law enforcement agencies across the globe.
    Jannuzzo has pleaded not guilty. His attorney Robert Citronberg didn't return calls seeking comment.
    A former New Jersey prosecutor, Jannuzzo was hired by Glock in 1991 to be the company's general counsel, and he soon became one of the top lieutenants in the U.S.
    Manown, an attorney from Dunwoody, Ga., said the two began working together to plunder the company.
    "It was so easy," he told investigators. "There was so much money flying around in this company, in this industry. It was like Monopoly money."
    By early 2003, though, the relationship between Jannuzzo and company founder Gaston Glock had grown tense. Manown said he watched as Jannuzzo stormed into Glock's house and threatened to air the company's dirty laundry if he wasn't given a $4 million payout.
    Jannuzzo soon quit, and in the months that followed, Manown said his guilt about the money he took began to eat at his conscience. He told prosecutors he grew increasingly nervous about whether Glock was investigating him, and after a few sleepless nights he decided to come forward.
    Manown's attorney, Bruce Morris, said his client confessed to Glock officials in October 2003 on his own accord before law enforcement got involved. He said Manown turned over all his records and more than $1 million to repay part of what he owed.
    "He felt that he needed to clear his conscience," Morris said.
    Neither Manown nor Jannuzzo were charged with any crimes until Glock turned over the details of its internal investigation to Cobb County authorities in 2007. Manown pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and agreed to be interviewed by a Cobb County prosecutor and a Glock official.
    Manown said greed led he and Jannuzzo to take the money.
    About a year later, Cobb County prosecutors charged Jannuzzo with stealing money by forging Gaston Glock's signature, fabricating loan documents and pilfering corporate funds. They say he funneled the money through an elaborate network of foreign bank accounts and company holdings. All told, the two are accused of stealing more than $5 million from the company and its holdings, according to court records.
    Manown said in the interview he stored most of the money in an offshore bank account, but that he's not sure what Jannuzzo did with his money.
    Jannuzzo was initially set to go to trial in October 2009 but fled to Mexico, according to court records, and didn't return until federal agents tracked him down in Amsterdam. He was extradited to Georgia in May, and he's been in jail since. If convicted of all counts, he could face decades in prison.
    Three other men linked to Glock are awaiting trial on charges of stealing from the firm in a separate case. James Harper, a former federal prosecutor hired by Glock to investigate fraud, and two members of his investigative team were charged with stealing about $3 million from the gunmaker. They have pleaded not guilty, and Harper has said the allegations were a misguided attempt by Glock to discredit him.
     
  2. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    "Manown said he watched as Jannuzzo stormed into Glock's house and threatened to air the company's dirty laundry if he wasn't given a $4 million payout."


    And there is more? ;)
     
  3. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I feel like I'm robbing them everytime I scoop up a Glock for $500.
     
  4. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Over the years, I have bought four or five Glocks but I always gave them away to somebody that needed a gun and recently came to realize that I have never pulled the trigger on a single Glock so I'll keep my opinion to myself until someone takes pity on me and lets me shoot theirs.
     
    ColtCarbine and Quigley_Sharps like this.
  5. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Instead of "give-away Glocks" consider "give away HiPoints". Far cheaper, and you feel less remorse giving them away. As for Glock, or any firearm for that matter, if I pull the trigger and it consistently goes boom and puts the bullet where I aim, I am good to go. Everything else, IMO is just borderline "gun snobbery".

    Caveat: I am, by force of a lifetime's habit, what one would call "cheap", I prefer to be know as frugal. I spend "good money" on good equipment. I spend only what I need to spend to get the job done, reliably. I do massive amounts of research, and when possible make direct, active use comparisons.

    I happen to be a fan of HiPoints (one of the scarce few), and not so much a fan of weapons like Kimber, Glock, etc. - not because they are bad weapons. It is because for far less money, I (and you) can, as my best friend (who is an armorer and a tactical pistol instructor) puts it: "buy a $400.00 weapon that performs like a $1000.00 weapon" which he adds emphatically "pisses" him off, because of all the money he has "wasted" over the years. (He was making a comparison of my Ruger P95 bought for $385.00, to his Sig P226 bought for $1065.00).

    As for the OP - the lawyer will see some serious jail time. I hope he enjoys Georgia State Prison.
     
    wrc223 and oldawg like this.
  6. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Oh, the people that I gave them to, I really wanted them to have a good reliable functional weapon at the time; didn't have much to do with benevolence, Santa Claus, or just wanting to give something away.
     
  7. wrc223

    wrc223 Monkey+


    I am "in the industry (mfg. of firearms)" and I couldnt agree more. It is really scary what little the difference is between a $600 pistol and a $1600 pistol or a $800 rifle and a $1200 rifle. There IS a difference but not a huge one.
     
  8. ColtCarbine

    ColtCarbine Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Maybe so but you have to realize there is a loooong history here of a lot of older members ribbing melbo about his inherent love for Glock's. Which is what it looks like to me, since Seacowboys posted right after melbo did.

    Dude it is all in good fun, everybody has their preferences.

    In defense of the Glock lovers their guns are dishwasher safe.
     
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