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NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― The city is suing a dozen more out-of-state gun shops that it says are responsible for many of the illegal weapons that end up in New York City -- a tactic that has already prompted six dealers to settle and allow scrutiny of their sales and inventory.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that the court has appointed the former head of the Enron Task Force, Andrew Weissmann, to monitor some of the businesses that settled their suits. They are among the initial group of 15 shops targeted by the city several months ago.

As the basis for the legal action against the gun dealers, the city hired private investigators to conduct a sting operation at about 45 dealers in other states last spring. They focused on those shops because hundreds of guns have been traced back there from New York City killings, muggings and other crimes in recent years.

Wearing hidden cameras, the investigators attempted to simulate "straw purchases," where one person fills out the paperwork for the gun but is making the purchase for someone else. The scam is often used by those who cannot own firearms, like convicted felons.

For the sting, investigators entered stores in teams of two, usually a man and a woman. While the woman wandered the store and basically ignored the gun purchase, the man asked all the questions about the weapon, held it, pointed it and made it clear he was the interested buyer. When it came time to fill out paperwork, the woman stepped up.

It's a scenario that should raise red flags with all dealers, who are trained to spot illegal straw purchases, the city said.
Bloomberg said the majority of gun dealers refused the sale, but those who allegedly allowed it have been targeted in these suits.

"By doing so, they aid and abet dangerous criminals, and they are exactly the kind of dealers that need to be held accountable," Bloomberg said.

The lawsuit filed Thursday asks the federal court to order supervision and extra training for the dealers, which are in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.

At John's Gun & Tackle Room in Easton, Pa., owner John Coscia said he was surprised to be named in the suit because he is aware of the law and tries to follow it.

"I'm really careful on the straw -- I turn a lot of people down because of straw buying," he said in a telephone interview. "I don't know what happened here. You can't tell all the time if it's a straw buyer, if the person comes in and looks legal."

Some dealers who settled after the first round of suits have said they oppose Bloomberg's intervention in their business but ultimately welcome the scrutiny and extra eyes of a special master. They say it is a tremendous burden to stay on top of every purchase and ensure that their employees are always making the right call.

United Loan & Firearms Inc. in Augusta, Ga., was among the businesses that refused the simulated straw sale during the city's sting operation. Owner Johnny Finley said he felt the tactic was unfair, because it is sometimes difficult to decide who is making a purchase if a couple is shopping together, but added that he was happy to have "passed the setup test."

"We're very particular," he said. "If it's more than one person that comes in the store, we pay close attention to what they're doing. If we have the slightest feeling that they're buying the gun for another person, federal law says we stop the sale."

Weissmann, the special master for those who have settled, will have unprecedented access to dealers' firearms-related records as well as the authority to inspect their inventories and observe them with cameras or additional undercover operations.

The dealers also agreed to pay the city penalties if Weissmann, a former assistant U.S. attorney, discovers that they are allowing straw sales or other illegal purchases.

The cases for those who have not settled are still proceeding through federal court in Brooklyn. Some shops have asked the judge to dismiss the suit, saying the city is out of bounds because the dealers are not doing business in New York.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)