Meet the P-patch resident behind the Stinger Pen Gun

He lives in a comfortable neighbourhood in the P-patch of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

His name is Marc Lefebvre.

He's a Canadian citizen and he's the president and chief executive officer of Stinger Manufacturing Corp. of Sault Michigan.

Marc Lefebvre is upset, very upset, about the things SooToday.com has been writing this week about his company.

We've tried, more than once, to get his side of the story on why his company is making potentially lethal James Bond-type firearms, concealed within pens and jackknives.

Lefebvre has so far declined to sit down with us for an interview.

Planning ad campaign He's planning, he told us today, to run ads to make sure the truth gets out.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms considers Stinger's so-called "undercover" weapons to be perfectly legal.

The controversial firearms can be bought without the detailed background check usually required for so-called "gadget" weapons, but they've nonetheless attracted considerable interest from gun-control lobbyists and from law enforcement and emergency response agencies concerned about the safety of their personnel.

Yet the only accusation federal agencies have managed to bring against him is for alleged illegal use of a fax machine.

Background articles from SooToday.com

You won't believe what they manufacture in Soo, Michigan Soo-made weaponry worries Washington gun lobby Controversial pen-gun firm headed by Sault Ontario man

So far, we know very little about Marc Lefebrve.

For the first time this morning, the Sault businessman returned a call to SooToday.com.

Lefebrve agreed to meet us at a downtown location (the Tim Horton's on Bay Street) at 2 p.m. today on condition that we not bring a camera.

A no-show at Timmy's

He backed out of the engagement, however, after talking to his lawyer.

The grainy, government-altered photograph above is the best we have of Lefebvre at this time.

It's taken from a poor-quality photocopy of Lefebvre's application last year to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) for a firearms-manufacturing licence.

ATF blacked out most of Lefebvre's face before releasing the document under U.S. freedom-of-information law.

'I'm not a bad guy'

"I'm not a bad guy," Lefebvre said during our morning phone conversation. "I'm doing this legally."

Lefebvre told us that he creates much-needed employment for the area.

Some manufacturing and assembly operations are done at his 1,000-square-foot Sault Michigan headquarters.

Other operations are jobbed out to other companies, he said.

One Canadian employee

Stinger hires Americans to build its weapons, although Lefebvre did confirm to SooToday.com that one other Canadian, a former military man, worked there as a consultant until his work permit expired.

When Lefebvre called us today, he talked about his wish to have his name, photo and home address excluded from our coverage.

He accused SooToday.com News of being liberal sympathisers trying to destroy his business, adding that he "knows" we're secretly on the payroll of a U.S. gun-control lobby.

Accused of illegal use of fax machine

Much of the discussion focussed on a reference in earlier SooToday.com coverage to what we described as a "charge" laid against Lefebvre and his company last week by the Federal Communications Commission.

That, he told us, was incorrect.

The FCC hasn't charged him with anything.

Only a "citation" was served on him, for allegedly using a fax machine to send an unsolicited advertisement.

Sent by mistake

Lefebrve told SooToday.com that the faxed transmission to a law enforcement agency was sent by mistake.

Stinger doesn't send unsolicited ad messages by fax, he said.

Sometime on Sunday, SooToday.com expects to reveal more about Lefebvre and his company, including how federal officials inspected his Michigan Sault facility "via phone" before issuing Stinger's manufacturing licence.

In the meantime, you can read the full text (Adobe Acrobat required) of the FCC citation issued to Lefebvre on November 5 by clicking here.