P G Dowd, Northboro, Ma

Bonded warehouses are not "government chosen companies." They are enterprises operating under the statutes and regulation for that type of business.

HOW the PD's choose which bonded warehouse to use and when to call them are issues of interest, however.

Other regulations aside, I had assumed that the police department (a part of the government) was choosing the bonded warehouse.

Does the the individual getting his guns taken away have any rights about where they'll go when the police decide to give up custody?
 
Does the the individual getting his guns taken away have any rights about where they'll go when the police decide to give up custody?

Yes. S/he has the right to transfer them to ANY duly licensed individual, unless the seizure is due to a c. 209A restraining order. If that is the case, s/he can transfer the guns to any FFL s/he chooses.

The foregoing presumes the PD actually deigns to permit the owner to exercise those rights, as opposed to summarily transferring the guns to the "bonded warehouse" before the owner can act. Or, in the case of at least one Bristol County PD, having Dowd come and grab them as soon as notice of the owner's intent to transfer was received.
 
Or, in the case of at least one Bristol County PD, having Dowd come and grab them as soon as notice of the owner's intent to transfer was received.

Scrivener... is it legal for a PD to ignore the owner's intent to transfer? Did the owner in this case choose to pursue the action if available?

Thanks,

Rich
 
Scrivener... is it legal for a PD to ignore the owner's intent to transfer? Did the owner in this case choose to pursue the action if available?

He chose to ransom his property from Dowd while he still had some equity in it.
 
If motivated, can you go back to the PD after the fact and fight it?

Yes.

15571


How ... motivated would you be?
 

From that link:

Southbridge police Sgt. Jose A. Dingui recently met with Northboro-based Village Vault, a firearms storage facility that in some cases will give the police 60 percent of the proceeds from a gun sale.

For the most part Village Vault stores guns that were taken by police in restraining-orders cases, license revocations or were abandoned or donated in instances when a gun-owner died and the family didn't want the weapon.

Gee, I wonder if that system has potential for abuse? [rolleyes]
 
I wonder where the 60% ends up??? Hmmmm.............

In all but the rarest cases, all monies collected by a city/town are supposed to be turned over the treasurer and go into the "general fund" . . . .translation is that 60-80% of "general fund" money gets used by the schools in any given city/town. Public Safety gets nothing but "crumbs". That is why PDs SWAP guns, etc. for "store credit" where they can use 100% for PD purposes.
 
In all but the rarest cases, all monies collected by a city/town are supposed to be turned over the treasurer and go into the "general fund" . . . .translation is that 60-80% of "general fund" money gets used by the schools in any given city/town. Public Safety gets nothing but "crumbs". That is why PDs SWAP guns, etc. for "store credit" where they can use 100% for PD purposes.

I'm also aware of a recent case where cops revoked an LTC and seized some guns in Mass., and one of the cops that took them commented that he liked a few of the ones that he saw, so he was "first in line" to buy them from Dowd at some kind of a discount when the inevitable fees-exceeding-the-guns-value would happen and the owner would sign over the guns. And this wasn't a department purchase, this was the officer purchasing it on his LTC for personal use.
 
In all but the rarest cases, all monies collected by a city/town are supposed to be turned over the treasurer and go into the "general fund" . . . .translation is that 60-80% of "general fund" money gets used by the schools in any given city/town. Public Safety gets nothing but "crumbs". That is why PDs SWAP guns, etc. for "store credit" where they can use 100% for PD purposes.

Len I don't know where you live but in my town the "crumbs" for police and fire are the second and third largest budgets behind the school system.
 
Len I don't know where you live but in my town the "crumbs" for police and fire are the second and third largest budgets behind the school system.

I think he means that the PD's get very little of the money that goes into the general fund from the guns that they sell to Dowd.
 
I think he means that the PD's get very little of the money that goes into the general fund from the guns that they sell to Dowd.

You are correct, but the game is the same whether it's Dowd, Cohen, or someone else. It's the odd town that does better than that.
 
I'm also aware of a recent case where cops revoked an LTC and seized some guns in Mass., and one of the cops that took them commented that he liked a few of the ones that he saw, so he was "first in line" to buy them from Dowd at some kind of a discount when the inevitable fees-exceeding-the-guns-value would happen and the owner would sign over the guns. And this wasn't a department purchase, this was the officer purchasing it on his LTC for personal use.

"There oughta be a law."
 
"There oughta be a law."

There were hearings on regulations regarding the bonded warehouse, however, the warehouse holders told the GCAB that they would fold and not offer their services at all if there were any regulations that in any manner regulated, limited or controlled the amount the could charge or terms they could offer the the person from whom the gun was confiscated.

The GCAB folded, apparently more concerned with making sure that police continued to get serviced than they were in making sure that gun owners did not get serviced in the manner a bull services a cow.

Just imagine if towing worked this way - with the tow yard free to set, without limit, and fee it wanted on a towed car and even say that anyone who had two cars towed could not bail one out from the tow yard without bailing the other out at the same time, or that the tow yard was by appointment only and fees would accure if the yard owner could not meet the car owner for a few days.

The AG is so concerned with "consumer protection" as to protect us from the unfair and deceptive trade practice of a dealer selling us a gun we wish to buy, but has no interest in protecting us from the warehouse scam :).
 
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The AG is so concerned with "consumer protection" as to protect us from the unfair and deceptive trade practice of a dealer selling us a gun we wish to buy, but has no interest in protecting us from the warehouse scam :).

Because the present AG, her predecessor and his predecessor have no interest whatsoever in protecting gun owners. The objective has always been to eliminate as many guns and gun owners as can be done through over-regulation and abusive procedures.
 
Had another experience with PG Dowd Firearms under the Yankee Artifacts label. Dealt with Phil over the phone. Purchased a SLR-105 (5.45X39 Russian)and did the transfer through Callahan's in Marlboro. Both shops were a dream to deal with. Met Mr. Callahan for the first time. Great guy.
 
Had another experience with PG Dowd Firearms under the Yankee Artifacts label. Dealt with Phil over the phone. Purchased a SLR-105 (5.45X39 Russian)and did the transfer through Callahan's in Marlboro. Both shops were a dream to deal with. Met Mr. Callahan for the first time. Great guy.

You do realize, of course, that you probably got a good deal on that gun because some poor sap couldn't pay the storage fees, and it was forfeited to Dowd who basically got the gun for the cost of his labor picking it up and maintaining confiscation paperwork?

Nothing in this comment is intended to be a criticism of Callahan's which has a reputation as a decent shop run by a good guy, however, I have certain "concerns" regarding a shop, however honest and legitimate, that would knowingly base a business on selling warehouse confiscated guns (I'm referring to Yankee, not Callahan)

I am puzzled by the "We'll gladly buy the rope you will use to hang us" mindset of some gun owners. Not only will people buy guns that have been taken from the legitimate owner via an abusive process, but GOAL will not hesitate accepting advertising from the leading practitioner of this process.
 
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Storage fees are payable, in full, every 30 days.

So the gun owner loses everything if they can't pay every month. [rolleyes]


How long do I have to hold guns my department seized under a 209A restraining order before I can transfer them to Village Vault?
Restraining order firearms may be transferred at any time according to Chapter 140, section 129D. It is not necessary to have a court hearing, especially in the case of a large quantity of guns or an extremely rare or valuable collection where the department wishes to be once removed from liability.

Of course. [sad2]
 
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http://www.yankeeartifacts.com/Ruger Handguns.htm

"Great find".......? Looks like some guy lost a nice Ruger collection cause he couldnt pay the storage.
But i could be wrong....

One's loss is another's gain. Shame on those who say not to at least attempt to get the word out about these people. The prices didn't even look all that special. What is the RST? It looks just like a MkI or MkII.
 
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