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S&W Chairman resigns...was bank robber in 50s-60s
jsergovic
Member Posts: 5,526
Believe it or not. It was in today's Wall Street Journal.
Comments
New York - 2/27/2004
CNN.COM
James Joseph Minder, chairman of handgun maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., resigned after a published report revealed he'd spent as much as 15 years in prison decades ago for armed robberies and a bank heist.
The Republican, a daily newspaper in Springfield, Mass., reported Thursday that Minder confirmed his resignation without realizing that the company had not made an official announcement.
Smith & Wesson, the nation's second-largest gun manufacturer after Sturm, Ruger (RGR: Research, Estimates), told CNN/Money that it plans to release a statement later Friday but did not wish to comment on the newspaper report or confirm Minder's resignation at this time.
Minder's convictions were unknown to Smith & Wesson until the Arizona Republic newspaper chronicled Minder's criminal past earlier this month. Smith & Wesson is based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Republic article reported that Minder maintains he had never tried to cover up his past, and that the reason he failed to disclose his criminal past to Smith & Wesson earlier was because nobody had asked the question.
Minder, 74, had spent time in prison in the 1950s and 1960s for a string of armed robberies and an attempted prison escape, according to the Republic. During that time, the Detroit News said he was known for carrying a 16-gauge, sawed-off shotgun.
Minder was sentenced to 3-1/2 to 10 years in state prison for robbing a store while attending University of Michigan as a journalism student, he told the Republic.
Minder also told the paper that he turned his life around after finishing his prison sentence in 1969. He said he has spent his professional career trying to help kids after receiving a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, a bachelor of arts in sociology and a master of arts in social work, all earned from the University of Michigan.
Minder, who served on Smith & Wesson's board since 2001, had run a successful non-profit agency serving delinquent and disabled Michigan youths for 20 years before retiring to Scottsdale in 1997, the Republic said.
Shortly before the Republic article was published, Smith & Wesson had named Minder as chairman, taking over the position from Roy Cuny, who remains on the board and continues to work as CEO and president of the company.
Cuny had been named to the top three posts in December, after Mitchell Saltz resigned as chairman and CEO. Also in December, Colt Melby stepped down as president amid a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the late filing of earnings statements.
Fifty years ago, how long does your past effect the present.
Seems to me, the guys been doing good things.
Flame away...
quote:My take? The guy paid his debt!
Absolutely. He did his time and turned his life around. Thought that was what was supposed to happen...
Mateomasfeo
"I am what I am!" - Popeye
Believe nothing that you hear and only one half of what you see!!
I'm Just One Man Talking!
H e ll.. he's a CONVICTED FELON who robbed a bank while armed..... perhaps you'd all like to have your daughter or wife to be in that same bank when he robbed it?
Again, from my previous quote and posting... are you kidding me?
Since your all sooooooooooo forgiving, how bout I go out and RAPE a few kids, now, and ten years from now, I ask for forgiveness? Why not "LEAVE ME ALONE" if I become a CEO of a gun company as well?? But, I suppose that's different [}:)]
NSDQ!
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me." -Isaiah 6:8
Night stalker, you're a fool.
Lord Lowrider the Loquacious.
Member:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
She was only a fisherman's daughter,
But when she saw my rod she reeled.
NSDQ!
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me." -Isaiah 6:8
[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
Lord Lowrider the Loquacious.
Member:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
She was only a fisherman's daughter,
But when she saw my rod she reeled.
Some of you people need to get your head out of your *!!![^]
Kids that fish, hunt and trap have never mugged any old ladies!
To Ride, shoot straight,and speak the truth
This was the Ancient law of Youth
Old times are past, old times are done:
But the Law runs true, O little son!
JOIN PETA! (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to have a salad and spring water!
Believe nothing that you hear and only one half of what you see!!
I'm Just One Man Talking!
________________________________________________________________________
"If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace" -Thomas Paine
If the people have become so apathetic that they will not vote out all the liberal scum (republican and democrat alike), the only solution is Constitutional Convention II the sequel. Let's get it right this time.
not sure what it is about this that hit ya so hard? Your posts have always seemed so open minded and of course can't leave out patriotic.
I see it as "the law", not a moral issue after 50-years or so.
He did wrong no doubt, but it was for money not lust like a rapist or pervert. In that sence I see no comparison. A sex offence would have me keeping my eye on the guy for years to come, and no limit when it comes to "wondering" if it was possible for him to be reformed or again commit another offence.
This guy either needed money, or was too lazy to earn it (at the time he committed the offence). Years later he obviously earned money, worked hard for an education and progressed in business. All after complying with the legal requirements to "pay his debt".
I expected a few radical statements here that would be against the guy, just didn't think you would be on that list I guess. Especially after all the good things he's done afterward, and untold lives he's helped.
CEO, or janitor makes no difference to me. He worked for what he got, after he made mistakes.
Stealing at gunpoint is not a minor deal, but I don't compare it to rape or perversion.
As always, I guess a lot of us are just wired different. We see things from different angles. I'm just confused that you seem to take it so hard and don't accept his punishment fit the crime. Should someone like this be bannished from society? If so, our population would be much smaller.
???
col elect1mike Illinois
volinters RRG
I am a man but I can change if I have to,I guess.
Here's how I view incarceration. Society has a right to be free from the presence of dirtbags for a certain period of time after they are convicted of their crimes. Society gets a break from their crap for a few years. They're still going to get out and re-offend regardless of how many touchy feely government programs you put into the prison system.
All we need is an opportunity for people like Feinswine, Klintoon, and Schum-bag to say that the gun industry hires ex-con's to run the show. The truth is not what wins the game at the end of the day. What APPEARS to be the truth is what makes it or breaks it in the realm of public opinion.
QB
Don't sweat the small stuff --- and it's ALL small stuff.
Outdoortexas, I apologize for the rape anaology, it was not a particularly good comparison, but the fear the victims in the banks felt must surely have been real none the less. Not sure why I got fired up about this particular subject, but something in the article just rubbed me the wrong way. Thanks for the compass check.
Lowrider, just send me your address, I can come over any night, and stay as late as needed, I already have permission from your mother. Not sure why you felt the need to call me a fool for posting my opinion, but I guess that is a bit of the norm on this board here as of late [:(].
Crosshair: [?]
NSDQ!
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me." -Isaiah 6:8
two of the COOLEST dudes you could ever meet
I really needed to make the statement that so few criminals really change their lives, that seeing the good things he's done to help others sorta made me think better of him.
Ids makes good points, this doesn't look good for the anti's! Same deal on the "reform", few do so. But that's where he did do better than most, he actually changed his life/future. And in doing so has helped others. jpwolf makes the same type of statement,the guy is now being punished for doing what society wants people to do,reform.
To put this in perspective...I seldom feel warm and fuzzy for criminals. In the case of perverts and rapists, hang 'em high. There is a difference to me though in the type of crime, although I don't think the white collar dudes get enough punishment! Had he taken someones life during a robbery, and he obviously could have had circumstances been different...he didn't.
Stalker, no offence to you at all. Really I guess everyone here is right...to a degree. [;)]
don't knock his parents
two of the COOLEST dudes you could ever meet
[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
I agree with the "higher standard" thing; the guy is 74 years old; he did the "honorable" thing by publicly resigning as chairman. He may still be on the Board, according to insiders. If he is instrumental in it's turnaround, a hasty departure would not be in the company's best interest.
The crime happened FIFTY years ago. Was the "no ex-con" law even in effect at that time?
Edward Payne
YOU CAN'T "PAY" FOR A CRIME LIKE THAT! Imagine that you have a 19-year-old daughter who is working as a teller so that she can pay for night classes at the local community college. She goes to work one day and has a gun stuffed in her face and is told to hand over all the money. Sorry. I've seen a few young women and the mental/emotional aftermath of a bank robbery. All you can do is sit behind bars and let society have a break from the stench of your presence for a few years. You've demonstrated your willingness, ability and propensity to commit a crime that goes beyond something petty like shoplifting or graffiti.
quote:Originally posted by idsman75
He paid for his crime? That notion is based on the belief that one can actually GIVE BACK what they have taken from society. Sorry bud. My mother has worked in the banking industry since before I was born. She's worked in the rougher parts of the Twin Cities for the last 20 years or so. She's seen a few robberies in her time.
YOU CAN'T "PAY" FOR A CRIME LIKE THAT! Imagine that you have a 19-year-old daughter who is working as a teller so that she can pay for night classes at the local community college. She goes to work one day and has a gun stuffed in her face and is told to hand over all the money. Sorry. I've seen a few young women and the mental/emotional aftermath of a bank robbery. All you can do is sit behind bars and let society have a break from the stench of your presence for a few years. You've demonstrated your willingness, ability and propensity to commit a crime that goes beyond something petty like shoplifting or graffiti.