A question of ethics.

[lembic76450]

Guys,  Franks bass is not an Omega as stated in the original post. Gary, do the right thing here. Imagine if it were yours. The owner of the store is no friend of yours or any musician. Bad Karma stains all those around it.
 
(Message edited by lembic76450 on February 02, 2011)

[pauldo]

Hear Hear - to the above posts!
Maybe the store owner or you can not get in touch with the 'star' - but I am sure Mica can.
 
Give up the ghost and tell us the store - peer pressure can often convince bad people to do the right thing. And isn't that what we need more of in today's world - people doing the right thing?

[terryc]

I thought that is why all our Alembics have serial numbers registered to us the owners..to stop this happening..for a dealer to do hold onto a registered stolen instrument is really misuse of trust and puts his reputation in jeopardy.
He really needs a wake up call on this.
I wonder who the anonymous 'famous bass player' is..certainly has my interest??

[benson_murrensun]

More than I am a bass player I am a motorcycle rider. My very first bike was stolen from me, way back in 1977. It still stings. I still want it back. There is no statute of limitations, as far as I am concerned.

[briant]

I was in a reputable vintage guitar shop last week.
 
Emerald City Guitars
 
One of the only reputable ones in Seattle that the owner is fairly consistently there that I can think of.
 
Whoever this person is he is a worthless scumbag and I want to know the shop so I never go there again.  I refuse to support anyone who has no ethics.

[lembic76450]

You know,  I sure hope that it isn't Jimmy Johnson's 1st 5 string.  The man has some of the best Karma on the internet. Fess up lad.

[jazzyvee]

I bought a fretless guitar from a shop in the UK called Cash Converters about 8 years ago and soon after that I contacted the manufacturer of the guitar with the serial number to get some history on it. I got a brisk email back telling me that the guitar belonged to the company and that it was had been lent to a guitarist in a very big international rock band here in the UK and that I must send it back to him.
 
I contacted the police about this and was told that since I bought it legitimately and paid a good price for it as a used instrument, I should advise the manufacturer that if they felt it was theirs then they should take steps to persue it through the legal process.  
 
I wrote back and never heard any more from the company, and I still have the guitar.
 
Jazzyvee

[bsee]

Alembic's stolen instrument list only has two SII instruments. JJ's fiver and 89-5429. There may be others, but I would think they would be listed if they were known to Alembic as stolen.
 
I don't know what the legalities are with regard to ownership once an instrument is stolen. If an insurance company pays off, do they become the rightful owners? If the statute has run out, that may eliminate the law's interest in the person as a criminal, but does it mean that he can now keep the instrument?
 
Of course, if the story is accurate, the ethics are clear. I doubt anyone can speak highly of someone who would receive stolen property and conceal it until it was safe to move. Isn't that the definition of a fence?
 
On the other hand, the ethical alternative isn't exactly fair. If he bought the bass at a fair price in good faith, he shouldn't have to eat that entire cost and hand it over. One would hope someone's insurance policy would provide relief. If, however, he bought the bass at a super low price and should have known something was fishy, then that just adds to the condemnation of the proprietor's ethics.
 
The hardest thing to believe in this whole story is that he told Alembic he had the bass ten years ago and he still has it today. I would have expected Alembic to jump all over such a report and inform the rightful owner. It's not out of the question that this happened and the rightful owner preferred the insurance payout to chasing down the instrument. Another ethical question there as well...
 
-bob

[hydrargyrum]

I know that if my guitar was stolen I would never forget it, and I would never stop considering to be my guitar.  I also feel sorry for anyone who innocently purchases a stolen instrument, as they are the ultimate victim of the thief's lack of integrity, if the owner is found.  I would hope that a business could write of such an expense as a loss, but I don't know if it is the case.

[chuck]

If the insurance co. has paid out it is the property of the insurance co.
If there was no insurance it remains the owners property.
 
Chuck.

[afrobeat_fool]

I see in another post you were at guitarville. If this is the place that has the SII than tell us and we will do something about it.

[elwoodblue]

That's what I was thinking. I stopped shopping there years ago.

[mica]

Gary - please email me the serial number/name of the store so I can get the bass in the right hands.  
 
Stolen instrument recovery is truly one of the best parts of my job. I love reuniting a bass with its long lost owner. Sometimes, it does get tricky, especially after a long time has passed.  
 
I've had to start thinking about what we need to do on our stolen instrument roster. What happens after the statute of limitations is over? Should it still be considered stolen? Well, of course I consider it stolen until it's returned to its rightful owner, but the police don't always see it that way.  
 
I also have empathy for those innocents that wind up buying something and then discover it was stolen. What a horrible, awful feeling that must be. It's hard to have pity for someone that waits out a legal statute knowingly. The story in the original post doesn't ring a bell.
 
Recently, the location of a stolen bass was reported to me, but the owner's phone number does not accept incoming calls. I sent a letter to the address we had - he no longer lives there and there is no forwarding. He's changed jobs, so I've asked his former co-workers to try and reach him on my behalf. The police are trying to assist, and I have a good and dedicated detective working to help, but it seems it was never reported stolen to the police, so there is only so much she can do (but she's trying to locate the owner (there are bass players everywhere, even police detectives)). This is very frustrating! This is not the bass referred to in the original post.  
 
I'm thinking to add the date stolen to the roster, and write about how even if an instrument can legally be traded after a certain period of time after it was stolen, it's still a part of that instrument's history, and the owner it was stolen from probably still wants it back. Good deeds are rewarded!

[pace]

He explained after he checked with Alembic, 10 years ago, he discovered it was a stolen bass. He said that, the nice people at alembic informed him he bought a hot bass.
 
I have a feeling the above story is complete BS....  
 
Put yourself in the victim's shoes, Gary. First, I wouldn't have posted the details.... I'd have contacted Mica via phone right away. Second, I'd have tried to put a cash deposit on the instrument if honestly however, he sort of trying to sell it to me.  Just so that it doesn't disappear into the netherworld again....  
 
If I was in the original owner's shoes, I'd hope that the members of this wonderful community would do the same for me....
 
PS:  Lembic76-450  said I sure hope that it isn't Jimmy Johnson's 1st 5 string.  I actually hope that it IS JJ's bass! That would be one of the greatest reunions that the f-clef has ever seen!!!!!  
 
(Message edited by pace on February 02, 2011)

[crobbins]

There must be some effort to return this bass to it's rightful owner.