Iowa Police Chief Sold Department’s Machine Guns for Profit, Officials Say

In all, Mr. Wendt bought 10 machine guns for the police department, tried to buy 15 additional guns and requested the demonstration of 65 guns, according to the indictment. But in reality, he sold six machine guns registered to the Adair Police Department for personal profit, making thousands of dollars; rented out machine guns in exchange for money; and intended to stockpile guns to sell at a later date, the indictment said.

“In fact, the Adair Police Department was not interested in and was not considering purchasing the machine guns identified in the demonstration law letters,” the indictment said. “Rather, the true purpose of the demonstration law letters was for Wendt to acquire machine guns for his personal use, enjoyment, profit and gain.”

According to a Justice Department news release, Mr. Wendt also “exploited his position” as police chief to obtain 10 machine guns for Williams Contracting L.L.C., a federally licensed firearms dealer operated by Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams solicited the necessary law letters from Mr. Wendt, who falsely stated in the letters that the Adair Police Department wanted a demonstration of machine guns for potential future purchase, according to court documents. Mr. Williams was also accused of intending to stockpile the guns and sell them for a profit.

In one instance, Mr. Wendt, using his own money, bought three machine guns for $2,080 each in December 2020 under the guise of official duties. Eight months later, Mr. Wendt sold two of them to a Florida-based buyer for $50,000.

Many of the guns were not meant for use by the public.

According to the indictment, Mr. Wendt contacted a machine gun manufacturer in January 2021 and inquired about buying a weapon known as a minigun, which prosecutors described as “an electric motor driven Gatling gun designed for speed and accuracy” that has a magazine capacity of 4,000 rounds and a fixed firing rate of 50 rounds per second. This type of machine gun is used by the U.S. military and is typically mounted on helicopters; the Adair Police Department does not own a helicopter. Mr. Wendt put down a $40,000 deposit for the $80,000 gun. In his law letter, Mr. Wendt said the gun was “suitable for engagements and suppressive fire.”

The A.T.F. rejected the purchase because the minigun was “not suitable for law enforcement use.”

And yet, making the machine guns available to the public was exactly what Mr. Wendt and Mr. Williams did, officials said.

In April 2022, Mr. Wendt and Mr. Williams hosted a public machine gun shooting event in Woodbine, Iowa, allowing patrons to fire a number of the machine guns in exchange for money.

Among the guns was a .50-caliber belt-fed machine gun that Mr. Wendt had claimed was needed for demonstration to the police department. In his law letter, Mr. Wendt said the gun was “ideal” for the department “based on its price and availability.” Mr. Wendt paid $17,896 for the gun. He mounted it to his armored Humvee and charged participants $5 per round.