Posting an ethical question

[cueball1950]

I have to post a reply

Please believe me when i say that i am definately in any stretch of the imagination in any way an angel.

most people that know me know that i try my best to be the most honest in dealing with everybody. A couple of years ago i bought a cue from a guy passing through. As the old saying goes, if a deal is to good to be true then it is. Most people know that i also attend the Open every year. Well i took this cue to the Open to sell not knowing it was stolen. I was playing at the old Q-masters over at the 5 corners on Norview Avenue. Anyway, to make a long story short a young gentleman approaches me and inquires where i got the cue from. I told him the truth. He then proceeded to tell me that the cue was his and was stolen months earlier by an acquantence of his. I asked him if he had any proof of owner ship and he produced a coa from the maker, an original bill of sale describing the cue (with a picture) plus he even had a police report on it. Faced with all this mounting evidence of his owner ship. I never once thought about what it cost me. I just turned it over to him and told him a few hundred bucks was not worth sleepness nights knowing it had been stolen.
The best part of this is that all this was handled without any involvement of others and no yelling and people getting hot under the collar over this issue. So in my opinion you should find out who it was stolen from and talk with them and try to make some kind of arrangements. You will definately sleep beter at night and will not have to worry about someone approaching you some day telling you it was his/her stolen cue. just do the right thing..sorry for being so long.............mike

 

[Tom In Cincy]

If you have any questions about what to do and wait until your final bit of information is available... then you might consider this.

When the person that has filed a police report on his stolen cue confirms you have it in your possession, he can have the police pick it up from you.

You are going to be asked who you purchased it from and you will lose possession of that cue.

Now, what are you going to do?

 

[TWOFORPOOL]

So, do you go the the ends of the earth to find the guy or can you justify keeping it?

You only have to go to the cuemaker who told you it was stolen and I'm sure he knows were the rightful owner is. This would not be the "ends of the earth" to find him. Give back the cue its the only thing to do.

 

[3andstop]

Stolen property is stolen property. There is no way it becomes ok to keep it. You do the right thing, loosing your money to the person who sold it to you, then they do the right thing by paying you back, and so on down the line until the chain stops. If anyone in the known chain refuses, then sue them in court. This is how it works.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

If someone dimes you out and the police arrest you, then charge you with possesion of stolen property, you could then stack time at the county's expense. That's crime novel talk for 'call the authorities'.