Connecticut gunmaker plans to leave state for Wyoming

Longtime New Britain gun manufacturer Stag Arms announced Monday the company will move its headquarters to Wyoming by the end of the year.

The company which for years manufactured guns, including assault rifles, in New Britain, had become embroiled in controversies after the Sandy Hook shootings which killed 26 in 2012.

Stag Arms former owner and president Mark Malkowski bucked attempts to reform state laws after the shootings making the sale of certain assault rifles illegal in Connecticut.

Malkowski was charged by federal authorities in 2014 after an investigation revealed the company had dozens of guns or gun parts with no serial numbers — a violation of federal gun sale and manufacturing laws, federal documents said.

Malkowski was required to relinquish ownership of the company as part of a plea agreement with federal authorities under which he would serve no prison time, federal authorities said.

He personally was required to pay a $100,000 fine and the company was issued a $500,000 fine and turned over to White Wolf

Capital, LLC.

In a statement issued Monday, Elie Azar, founder and CEO of White Wolf Capital, announced that Stag Arms would be moving to Cheyenne, Wyo., by the end of 2019.

“We decided to do a complete refresh of the company,” Azar said.

Former managers of the New Britainbased company said since 2016 the New Britain workforce of 75 has been largely laid off, leaving only three employees.

Associated Press file photo Veetek Witkowski holds a newly assembled rifle at Stag Arms in New Britain in 2013. The Connecticut gunmaker announced Monday plans to leave the state, moving its operations to Wyoming.