11:18 PM ET 04/13/99

Gun Dealer Settles With Chicago

 Gun Dealer Settles With Chicago
 By EVELYNE GIRARDET=
 Associated Press Writer=
           CHICAGO (AP) _ A gun dealer has reached a settlement with the
 city in a $433 million landmark lawsuit accusing the gun industry
 of flooding the streets with weapons deliberately marketed to
 criminals.
           Robert Taborden, owner of Bob's Sports Headquarters in suburban
 Justice, is one of 40 gun dealers and manufacturers named in the
 lawsuit, which was filed by the city and Cook County last fall. He
 is the first to settle.
           As part of the agreement Taborden will cooperate in the ongoing
 investigation of the firearms industry and testify for the city and
 county when the case goes to trial.
           ``We now have a witness who can give us an insider's account of
 the manner in which this industry knowingly markets illegal
 firearms in Chicago,'' Corporation Counsel Brian Crowe said in a
 statement Tuesday.
           In return, the city and county will drop all claims for damages
 against Taborden and his business, the city said.
           The lawsuit, which officials expect to be a national test case,
 charges the gun industry with creating a public nuisance in Chicago
 by oversupplying suburban gun stores with firearms, knowing they
 will eventually make their way back into the city. Chicago has some
 of the toughest gun laws in the nation.
           Similar lawsuits have been filed in New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta
 and Bridgeport, Conn.