It looks like Mike Magnum’s old buddies at the Front Sight Firearms Institute are in a little bit of trouble. Oh, not because they let children play with firearms (after all, that’s completely legal, right?), but because they’re facing a lawsuit and racketeering charges.
The staccato of controlled bursts from Uzi submachine guns was mixed with the excited laughter of children climbing 200 feet up a rock wall. In a scenario revisited on a regular basis at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, 300 students of all ages converged at the desert playground for active families and firearms enthusiasts.
Students from New York to California spent four days taking courses in rappelling, defensive handgun, tactical shotgun and practical rifle, unaware that just a few days earlier a federal lawsuit that could prove potentially disastrous to this planned firearms community was filed in federal court.
Front Sight, a resort-in-the-making located 30 miles south of Pahrump near the Spanish Trail, is in the crosshairs of at least three of its members who filed a class action against founder Ignatius Piazza and Front Sight Management Incorporated on Nov. 7.
Stacy James and Michael Schriber of Southern California and Bill Haag, who maintains a residence in Pahrump, filed the suit in California, where Front Sight is headquartered. The action demands a jury trial under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
…The 26-page complaint against Front Sight centers on membership benefits and promises. At the organization’s inception in 1998, memberships were sold to fund construction of shooting ranges. Free classes for life with memberships that could be willed to family members were attractive to gun owners who sought professional training. Additional benefits – like home sites – were promised for higher priced memberships.
Apparently the “Institute” was all but extorting money from its customers, including Bill Haag, who paid a huge amount of money for a house site that never got used.
Bill Haag paid $175,000 for a platinum VIP membership that includes a one-acre home site and has waited years to build his home on the range on property that as yet has no road, power, water or sewer service – and he is mad enough to file suit on behalf of any one of the 3,000 students who feel they have been deceived by Front Sight.
“It’s time someone stepped up on behalf of the members,” was all Haag felt he could say about the court case.
Front Sight’s founder just comes out looking shady in the whole thing– as we’d expect of a guy who teaches children and families how to operate assault rifles.
However, Piazza – the founder and president of Front Sight Management – had plenty to say about the allegations contained in the complaint.
“I have been keeping my nose to the grindstone and working 12 to 16 hours a day, six to seven days per week on Front Sight ever since we broke ground in 1998,” he stated. “I wish the project had moved faster, but this type of unique resort has never been built before – anywhere. That presents a number of problems that simply must be overcome with time.”
Speaking about several development deals for the planned community that he has nixed or that have fallen through in the past, Piazza says, “If we had completed the project a few years ago on our own, it would never have been as beautiful or complete as it can be now. The delays have been a blessing in disguise.”
We totally agree: never having to fulfill your $175,000 promises can be a blessing in disguise, especially when you get to keep the money. It looks like the case is still unfolding, so obviously there’s no hints of judgement yet, but we figure if tax evasion could take down Al Capone, racketeering might be good enough to close Front Sight.
