Klarinet Archive - Posting 001391.txt from 2000/10

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Stolen Bass Clarinet Update
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 15:47:31 -0500

David Hattner wrote,
>The seller has removed the item from the ebay auction after hearing from
some
>of you. He called me, very angry that I had contacted his potential buyers.
>He bought the instrument for $450. I offered to reimburse him that amount
but
>he insists on making a profit. He actually said that he would rather run
over
>it with his car than give it to me without a profit.
>
>This man's name is Jim and his number is 718-937-7644. His email is
>Doubledge@-----.com I think we should all let him know exactly how we feel
>about this attitude.

Harassing "Jim" may make him all the more stubborn, although it's worth a
try. I think we should let eBay hear from us, too. Does eBay need the
publicity that comes from dealing with a sleazebag?

Re. the legalities, I'm not an attorney, but it seems to me that the clarinet
is still your property, not the property of the police, who had no right to
sell it. Although the current vendor is not a thief, IMHO he doesn't legally
own the merchandise. (What about the proverbial man who buys the Brooklyn
Bridge? Does he own it now?) In effect, the cops fenced your stolen
clarinet. Which police have you talked to? If some desk sergeant gave you
the bum's rush, maybe it's time to go over his or her head to the Chief of
Police, or the Mayor's office, because this situation is an obvious and
outrageous miscarriage of justice.

It seems to me, as a matter of basic fairness, that the police ought to own
up to the mistake, give "Jim" back his money, take back the clarinet and
return it to the rightful owner. It should not be left up to the owner to do
his own police work with "Jim" -- let alone beg the creep for a favor.
Threatening to run over your clarinet with his car if he doesn't get his
profit strikes me as flat-out extortion, and I hope you've advised the police
of this threat. "Jim" may have outsmarted himself there -- crossed the line
from the merely disgusting to the criminal.

Have you contacted newspapers and TV stations yet? That's the next step, I
would think -- amazing what bright sunlight on the subject can do to
disinfect slimy morals. There's been quite a lot of investigative reporting
on e-business lately and I should think AP or Reuters news service might find
your story most interesting. Confronted with the little red light on a TV
camera, this "Jim" may suddenly discover that he's been "misunderstood" and
that he meant to do the right thing all along....

Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have six locks on my door, all in a row. When I go out, I lock every
other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the
locks, they are always locking three of them."
-- George Carlin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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