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ATF won an indictment against Katona, but handwriting experts for both sides agreed they had found no conclusive evidence linking the alleged forgeries to Katona or anyone else. As a result, the judge dismissed the case.
Kimberly Katona, in a tear-filled deposition, said the agents didn't have to raid the house but could simply have asked Katona to explain how he got the signatures on the forms. ATF director John Magaw agrees, saying the agents should have asked themselves some questions first: "What is this we're trying to enforce? What is the danger to the public here?" He adds, "We're going to work a case like this differently in the future."
But Sheriff Shawber wonders why the case got tagged as an example of federal abuse in the first place. "It just baffles me," he says. "Because it would appear to me that there was something going on there. There were forged documents."