Firefighter to testify before Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WIVB) - One of the firefighters shot during a Christmas Eve ambush in Webster, New York will testify before Congress on Tuesday.  Ted Scardino will appear at a bi-partisan house forum on gun trafficking.

Scardino supports legislation that called for tougher penalties for people who buy guns for others. Police believe William Spangler, the man who shot Scardino and three other firefighters, got the weapon illegally from a neighbor.  The neighbor, Dawn Nguyen, is now facing charges.

When someone buys a gun for someone else in order to avoid a background check, that’s called a “straw purchase” and that’s what Nguyen is charged with. The legislation would make gun trafficking a federal crime and impose stronger penalties for straw purchases.