Retired Police Officer Sentenced for Falsifying ATF Form to Transfer Machine Gun

PORTLAND, Maine:  A former Portland police officer was sentenced on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland for falsifying an application to acquire a machine gun.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Levi Thomas Robinson Jr., 69, to two months incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Robinson pleaded guilty on June 21, 2023.

According to court records, Robinson was the owner of a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL), Robinson Arms in North Yarmouth. In October 2022, he provided a falsified letter that included a forged signature of a Portland Police Department official and was written on department stationery in an attempt to transfer a Kriss USA Inc. Vector Cal. .45 ACP machine gun to Robinson Arms from an FFL in Rockwell, Texas. An FFL who pays the special occupational tax may acquire samples of post-1986 machine guns in order to demonstrate them to governmental entities for possible purchase. The qualifying FFL must obtain a letter from the governmental entity stating they are interested in having a demonstration of the machine gun for evaluation and possible purchase.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

Project Safe Neighborhoods: This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. To learn more information about Project Safe Neighborhood, visit www.justice.gov/psn.

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