Smith & Wesson chief was an armed robber

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=495490

James Joseph Minder seemed the perfect chairman for Smith & Wesson - a respected member of the business community in Phoenix who had previously set up and run his own company to help disadvantaged youths.

Alas, there was one problem. Mr Minder, 74, had spent more than a decade in prison for a string of armed robberies.

And yesterday, the management consultant resigned from the legendary handgun manufacturer, two weeks after an Arizona newspaper revealed his misspent youth in the 1950s and 1960s. At first, Smith & Wesson's astonished board unanimously rejected his offer to step down as his criminal past became public.

Asked by The Arizona Republic newspaper why he hadn't told directors when he joined the board in 2001, Mr Minder replied: "Nobody asked. They didn't ask me the question, so I guess I never answered it. The only thing that would have disqualified me was if I had committed securities fraud in the last 20 years, and I hadn't." But yesterday the chairman bowed to the inevitable, and quit. "I felt it was the best thing to do for the company, given the circumstances," he said.

[ParanoidPat]

1. I wonder what brand of gun he used.....

.....for the robberies? :shrug: :evilgrin:

It would make for a great commercial, I'm not only the chairman of Smith & Wesson, I'm also a customer! :) (Apologies to the Hair Club for Men.)

[Columbia]

2. Dupe

BTW, he used a shotgun and S&W doesn't make shotguns.

[pinniped]

3. Possible, S&W did make shotguns in the past.

n/t

[Columbia]

4. You're correct, you learn something new everyday...

[Tuttle]

5. kick

n/t

Tut-tut

[KansDem]

6. And who said "the shoemaker's kids are the last to have shoes"???

:)

[NickB79]

7. So, 50 yrs ago he committed a crime

He was sentenced to more than 10 yrs in prison, and once released started a company to help disadvantaged youths. Sounds like he's a great model of prisoner rehabilitation, so where is the problem? He served his time for his crime, and attempted to repay the community by helping children stay away from crime. And now, even though there is no legal reason requiring him to resign, he offered to even as the Smith and Wesson board protested. What am I missing here? Sounds like he turned his life around and tried to do right since then.

[sendero]

9. I'm of the same mind....

.... not to minimize the offense of armed robbery - but if he served his time he is supposed to have paid his debt to society.

We are supposed to want people to come out of prison rehabilitated. It sure seems like he did just that.

It is kind of funny in an ironic sorta way - but I wouldn't have fired him. (as I understand it he ostensibly fired himself, but we all know how that goes)

[T_i_B]

10. Reform? BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

From the article

Those circumstances include 15 years spent in prison in Michigan, starting with four years served between 1951 and 1955 for robbing a store when he was a journalism student at university.

After being released on parole, he went on a second crime spree during which, according to The Detroit News of the day, his weapon of choice was a sawn-off shotgun.

Seems that he found the whole stealing at gunpoint thing a tad difficult to give up. :eyes:

[NickB79]

16. And that means he was released from prison in the 1960's

A good 40 yrs ago, give or take a few. In that time he didn't reoffend, and he started a company to help keep youths away from crime. Its not like he kept robbing over and over again for the past half-century.

[monobrau]

11. Felons can't own guns

He can't legally own one of the companie's products.
There may not be a legal reason to force him to resign, but it's obviously not helpful to have a convicted armed robber running a gun company.

[pinniped]

12. Exactly. Some states or citites won't allow a felon to be in the same...

house as a firearm.

I wonder if that would also apply to a business environment?

I saw some gunnuts talking about giving people released from prison their Second Amendment rights back (own guns legally). Reason was because they didn't want to create a class of people who were refused Second Amendment rights.

[NickB79]

17. Here in MN felons can get their constitutional rights reinstated

I believe you have to be crime-free for at least 10 yrs before they'll even consider it, but there are states where you can recieve your rights back after committing a felony if you show you're rehabilitated. That includes firearms ownership.

And remember, felons don't just lose their right to own firearms, but also their right to vote. I don't know about you, but that makes me feel pretty uneasy even after they've served their time. If they can prove that they're unlikely to re-offend by going a decade without committing a crime, I see no reason why they shouldn't recieve their rights back.

[slackmaster]

24. Felons can have their civil rights restored

See 18 USC section 925(c) at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/925.html

[Piperay]

13. It shows the bad judgement

and irresponsibility of a gun company that they don't even check backgrounds, not even on people who head up their company. It's just not a good advertisement for their company, that is what bothers them.

[leesa]

14. I suppose that they are opposed to background checks.

I really don't see the rehab. He commits armed robberies until he's too old to pull them off anymore, then he sells guns, some he knows will be used for the same purpose, and keeps the cycle going.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Yes, I found that funny

that S&W obviously didn't do a background check on him. They probably drug test and background check the lowliest employees in their company, but the big dogs get in without this screening. Gee, that's really fair. LOL

[LiberalFighter]

19. They are practicing what they preach

They don't want background checks on their customers.

[slackmaster]

25. Sez who?

Got a cite to support that statement?

Are you assuming they don't care at all who buys their products or for what purpose?

I can't recall that company ever stating a position on background checks. Some gun manufacturers have weighed in on the issue, but not S&W AFAIK.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. Learned here the corporation is in AZ

but they still make the guns in Mass:

http://www.masslive.com/business/republican/index.ssf?/base/business-1/107778520727510.xml

[yellowcanine]

15. Well at least he has relevant experience

Apparently he knows guns.

Seriously, has he been rehabilitated? That is what I would want to know. And did he ever provide false information about his past on an application? I am not sure we should pound the guy if he has not committed any crimes for 30 years and if he generally has been a positive force in his community. If someone has paid their debt to society should they still be punished?

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. It depends

on what they want to do. Pedophiles shouldn't get jobs working with kids. And armed robbers shouldn't be able to run gun manufacturing companies. No brainer.

[Vitruvius]

32. And he understands a big part of the market for his guns -- criminals.

And the Bu$h administration wants to make gun manufacturers immune to lawsuits from law-abiding citizens who were shot by the gun makers' products... For Bu$h is a criminal too (drugs, desertion, more).

[FeebMaster]

33. haha

Yeah, Smith & Wesson makes a fortune selling guns to criminals. :eyes:

[Thucydides]

18. Sounds like he has all the qualifications for a cabinet post...

convicted felon and former corporate insider. I am sure he must be on shrubs "A" list!

[thingfish]

20. I think it's tragic this man, who has obviously reformed, had to step down

But I understand why he did, and that he did so without prompting makes him even more admirable in my eyes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. No, the real tragedy

is that S&W would hire him. Reformed or not, he is a convicted felon. He wouldn't be able to work most low level jobs in this country if there is a background check as part of the hiring process. But he gets to be a bigwig. I find that wrong.

[thingfish]

26. What do you mean, he wouldn't be able to work the most low level jobs?

s

[slackmaster]

27. I was going to say the same thing

People with criminal pasts are often unable to get anything BUT a low-level job.

[NickB79]

31. Yeah, that won't push ex-felons back to crime

Commit a crime, get locked up, and after you serve your time and are released, no one will hire you for any kind of livable wage. Gee, wonder what they're gonna do to get money then?

Hell, lets just execute every felon in this country, how about that? If you're of the position ex-felons should never again work decent jobs or live a normal life after they've served their time, why not just put them out of their misery?

[UpInArms]

28. Update: Exec to stay as a director

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usguns293690482feb29,0,2351386.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson is standing by board member and former chairman James Joseph Minder despite revelations that the 74-year-old executive spent 15 years in prison for using a sawed-off shotgun to commit holdups in the 1950s.

The company said Friday that Minder, who stepped down as chairman earlier in the week, will remain on the board of directors. "While recognizing the very serious mistakes in his early life ... the board believes he should and can continue to provide invaluable input," the company said in a news release.

News of Minder's background was first reported earlier this month by the Arizona Republic. It hit amid congressional debate about whether gun companies should be protected from lawsuits seeking to hold them responsible when their products are used to harm people.

Opponents of the legislation have used the news about Minder as ammunition.

But a spokesman for Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), sponsor of the bill, said Minder's past has no bearing on the issue.

...more...

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

29. "the board believes he should and can continue to provide invaluable input

I think that says it all.

I can hear the board meetings:

"Now, in the commission of a felony, you need a weapon that not only conveys power, but is short enough so as not to get hung up in a potato chip rack while spinning toward the entrance if an unexpected customer arrives."

"here, here!"

[FeebMaster]

30. riii-i-i-iiii-iiight

:eyes: