Another Law Breaker and criminal- The Minuteman Express by Jim Gilchrist
Lou why you do not invite Mr. Jim Gilchrist to discuss this information on your show? Or you dont want to put more bizarre on your lap eh?. You need to expose the both sides of the subject

Minuteman Project president, Jim Gilchrist, says California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR) member may be smuggling illegal weapons into California

May 12, 2007 — Minuteman Project founder and president, Jim Gilchrist, said today that investigations are continuing into the disgruntled former members of his organization who illegally tried to seize his organization in February. Allegations are that an investigation of possible illegal gun dealing may also involve a well-known immigration law advocacy group from Huntington Beach, Ca.

“It has been brought to my attention that Scott Powelson, a close friend and associate of Barbara Coe, the leader of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR), was apparently observed purchasing an illegal assault rifle in Nevada and smuggling that weapon into California recently.”

Powelson, one of the hijackers who failed in an attempt to overthrow and seize Gilchrist’s Minuteman Project, was removed from the Minuteman Project membership in late January after he refused to provide Gilchrist with his social security number. The information was needed for the filing of federal and state compensation reports required for payments to sub-contractors of $600, or more, annually. Powelson received over $8,100 from the Minuteman Project, Gilchrist said. “He wouldn’t provide the information required by tax laws for sub-contractors, so I terminated his contract…and his membership. He was not happy about that.”

According to Gilchrist, two Minuteman Project membership recruiting consultants accompanied Powelson to Las Vegas last November. In their presence Powelson purchased what he later described as “an illegal weapon” that he intended to bring into California. The witnesses said Powelson wrapped the military-style weapon in a blanket and hid it in the back of his truck’s camper shell. According to the consultants, the purchase was also witnessed by a male companion of Powelson, identified only as “Tom,” a known anti-Semitic who Gilchrist had banned from the Minuteman Project.

Later that week Powelson brought the weapon to the Tustin residence of Deborah Peterson (alias Deborah Courtney), 55, and passed it around for inspection. “It’s illegal as all Hell,” he laughed as he handed the weapon to Tim Bueler, 19, who was living at Peterson’s home at the time. Bueler said he “moved out of Peterson’s place” very soon after the incident with the weapon. “They are crazy,” Bueler said, “to be fooling around with illegal guns.”

Also handling the weapon was Deborah Peterson’s live-in boyfriend, Paul Sielski, 40, a fugitive wanted by Maryland law enforcement authorities. Sielski, a convicted wife-beater, has since been arrested by clever deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department fugitive task force. He is scheduled for extradition to Maryland on May 16 where he faces up to 20 years in prison, apparently for fleeing prosecution for other crimes.

Bueler said he did not know if the weapon Powelson handed him was a semi-automatic or an automatic (machinegun) weapon. He said only that Powelson told him “It is illegal as all Hell.”
The two consultants for Gilchrist did not purchase any guns, nor do they own any. Gilchrist was informed by the consultants of what they thought appeared to be alleged gun smuggling on February 25, 2007. He immediately contacted Costa Mesa Police, since Powelson uses an address in the 700 block of Joann St. in Costa Mesa as his residence. Powelson also claims to own a home in Arizona and a residence in Nevada. Also, he claims to have a driver’s license issued by Nevada. Telephone calls about the incident were also made to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).

When asked why the consultants waited so long to tell Gilchrist about Powelson’s assault weapon, Gilchrist said “They were scared. One of them is a 19-year-old kid who needed a place to live and who was told ‘keep your mouth shut’. The other witness really believed he would be harmed (shot) if he spoke up about it. Eventually, I coached them into ‘fessing up’ about it.”

This revelation brings serious questions about the involvement, if any, that immigration law advocacy groups like the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR) may have with the smuggling of illegal weaponry into California. It is unknown if Powelson brought only one illegal weapon into California, or many.

“It begs the question: How many?” Gilchrist asked. “And where would those weapons be and what might be their purpose? Finally, what other contraband might be coming into California under the guise of an ‘immigration law enforcement activist group’?”

“After all,” he added, “how can immigration law advocates insist on immigration law enforcement if some of the activists might be blatantly breaking serious laws themselves?”