Klarinet Archive - Posting 000221.txt from 2000/11

From: HatNYC62@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Final Chapter, Stolen Bass Clarinet
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2000 07:55:14 -0500

Received this from "Jim" this morning,

Dear Mr. Hattner,

I will be fifty five years of age this coming spring. I never was, am not
now, nor will I ever be, a thief. I do not deal in stolen merchandise. Nor
do I buy items off the street, at flea markets or yard sales. I am licensed
by the City of New York to possess rifles and shotguns and recently declined
to renew my NYPD pistol permit, which I held, without incident, for twenty
five years.

I purchased an instrument at public auction, no more no less. In this
instance, an
auction held by the NYPD. I'm sure that somewhere in the property clerk
division, a serial number has been recorded, the item marked as evidence and
this should somehow tie into an arrest. You will find that my name is not on
the arrest sheet.

I have been retired for the past five years and I truly enjoy, finally,
having the time to pursue several life long hobbies, one of which is buying
and selling all kinds of items. I must confess that I simply love it.

Kindly recall our phone conversation.......I gladly gave you the information
you requested and in fact would have invited you over to look at the
instrument, had you so desired. Sound like a thief or bad guy to you???
Your emotions were running high at the time, mine weren't. You misconstrued
my remark about the car and the instrument. Perhaps those in your circle
might comment, while aghast and all aflutter "my god, call the police,
someone is trying to sell me a stolen item". Where as, I stated that, "I
would rather run the fucking thing over with my car, than deal with it".
Both dramatic, in different ways of course, but both having the same meaning
eg: if its hot or even suspicious, walk away.

FYI... A stolen item, once recovered, is no longer deemed to be stolen. I
could have walked into a police station with it and feared not.

Insurance companies generally play by these rules.... which state that if an
individual or company comes into legal possession of a stolen and recovered
item, then, that person or company is not subject to laws of subrogation. In
laymans terms...lets say that an insurance company representative came across
an item in a warehouse, which had been reported stolen and for which a claim
had been paid. In a case such as this, the insurance company would then be
entitled to claim the item. Not the old owner, the insurance company. As I
came by it legally, redress with me would be long and expensive and in this
case, fruitless, as it is no longer in my possession.
If the insurance company wishes to take the matter up with the NYPD, that is
their business.

Once you accepted the insurance settlement, you lost your interest in and to
your old instrument. Incidentally, as you know, the full serial number has
never been in print, so it may very well not be your old instrument after
all. My eyes are not that great and I never did look at it with a magnifier.

Posts by galoots about breaking into apartments to seize items from people
who were behind in their payments or some such nonsense. I distinctly
remember you saying something about your being non-violent.

You called me a jerk in print, which is your right to do, but you're the guy
whose stuff got ripped off, not me. I keep my valuables in a very safe
lockup. And since I was in legal possession of what may have been your old
ax, I have disposed of it, as was my lawful right to do. You sir, will never
again see the piece in question.

My youngest son, age sixteen, took a phone call from your father. I did not
return that call because your father mentioned to my son that he was an
attorney and that just plain pissed me off.

Your campaign of letter writing, anonymous telephone messages, and
villification of me on a public web site should be of interest to your father
as well as to my lawyers.

Had you just been cool, we probably could have worked it out. I know it
pains you but you are no longer the legal owner of a particular instrument,
which, by the by, was in super condition. You will just have to live with
that.

I have been judged, slandered, called names and my selling identity has been
besmurched in a public forum. If I can, I will take legal action against
anyone I can nail. Your circle of friends has put in print ways to screw me,
etc. There doesn't seem to be any in the bunch able to cast the first stone.

And finally, to the moral and ethical crowd, quite frankly, at this juncture,
I pass gas on the lot of you.

JIM

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