January 22, 2005

Michael Moore's Bodyguard

A number of people have been blogging about how Michael Moore hired a bodyguard that was recently arrested for carrying an unlicensed pistol. JimK at MooreWatch has the full and accurate story. Please note, the page will open to a small precis - click on the More... link for more. Here is the "approved version"
A bodyguard who has protected outspoken moviemaker and gun-control advocate Michael Moore was arrested at Kennedy International Airport for allegedly carrying a pistol without a New York license, authorities said Thursday. Patrick Burk, 34, was arraigned Thursday evening on a felony charge of criminal possession of a weapon and was released on his own recognizance, said Patrick Clark, a spokesman for the Queens district attorney’s office. A return court date was set for Feb. 3. Burk was questioned by police Wednesday night after he notified a United Airlines ticket agent that he wanted to carry his weapon — unloaded and in a bag — on a flight to Los Angeles, said Port Authority spokesman Tony Ciavolella. The bodyguard, who works for the California-based security firm Gavin de Becker & Associates, told police he had traveled to New York with Moore earlier this month, Ciavolella said. He produced licenses for his Mauser handgun from California and Florida, but not New York, which prompted his arrest. Burk’s attorney, Marc Greenwald, said his client “was following proper airline procedures when he was checking in and informed the airline that he had an unloaded and locked weapon in his checked baggage, which he is entitled to do.” Moore spokesman Mark Benoit said the filmmaker “wasn’t there and had nothing do with this.” Burk has been assigned to protect Moore at times in the past but is not his personal bodyguard, Gavin de Becker said. De Becker defended Burk, saying he had followed proper procedures at the airport. He called him “a leading professional in his field.”
Questions? Posted by DaveH at January 22, 2005 10:44 PM