Jury convicts Iowa police chief of lying to feds to acquire machine guns

The jury convicted Adair Police Chief Brad Wendt, 47, of conspiring to make false statements to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, making false statements to the agency, and illegal possession of a machine gun. He was convicted on 11 of 15 charges.

Wendt was indicted in December 2022, accused of lying to the bureau in official letters asking to buy the machine guns or to see them demonstrated.

Authorities say he bought machine guns for the police department, then sold them for an almost $80,000 personal profit. Trial evidence showed he bought machine guns for his gun store, including a .50-caliber machine gun he mounted to his own armored Humvee, using the letters, federal prosecutors said.