what would you do if this happened to you? i feel i did not commit a crime. the bass is one of the first pedulla basses ever made.
...........................................


Sounds like a "movie of the week"

But, seriously ...

If lawyers can track this "puppy"
down after the number of ownership/
{POSSESION} changes you describe ...


something seems very wrong to me!


I'm not sure of what the laws are in
the jurisdictions where said transfers
took place, however ... umm

Did you tell the attorney that called,
that you still have it?

If I were to guess, the problem starts
when the "friend" pawns the instrument.

Did you tell the attorney that called,
that you still have it?

i think he knows i have it.

thats what im thinking, i would think the case would be closed after the friend was prosicuted.

How certain are you that the man
you spoke with is REALLY a lawyer?


Yes, speak with a number of lawyers
in your neighborhood, since the first
visit is free, keep going to "NEW" ones
until you get a feel for where you stand.

How certain are you that the man
you spoke with is REALLY a lawyer?

i received yesterday,a fax with a new york police report filed from the owner the pawn ticket from the pawn shop where his friend pawned the bass. it was on a law office type letter head.

i tried to speak with attorney today in my state of missouri, but they cant help me because all this is going down in new york.im many states away and have never been to new york.

i hate tobe the science ratt of experiment, but to all out there be carefull bidding on ebay!!!!

#########################

the original owner loaned his bass...
AL

to his best friend...
BOB

then pawned the bass to a local pawn shop...
CONS & PROS PAWN SHOPPE


then sold it to a collecter...
DONNY


the bass collecter then sold it to another guy...
EDWARD


who sold it to another guy
FLEMING


put it up on ebay. which i bid and won
GOOGLEIE moogalee
JAY SUN TU SHEA

#########################


This is how I see it, ... and I stayed at a Holiday Inn.

Bob stole (took possession of{ without the use of force}) Al's bass.

Bob pawned said bass.(This was not his property to do so.)


@@@ THIS IS CHOKE POINT ONE @@@

Al should have learned a very valuable lesson, and Bob
should have a criminal record.

Al should sue Bob to recoup his monetary loss. (Fair market
value of the item ... NOT WHAT HE PAID FOR IT)

@@@~~~@@@
Should be end of the story here ...
But ...

The item is now in the hands of the pawn shop, which
sells it to DONNY.


*** ^^^ ***
We need to make some presumptions here!
*** ^^^ ***

Other than you, we don't know the length of
time of possession by the entities involved.

We don't know:

How much Al paid for it.

How much Bob got for it.

How much Cons & Pros got for it.

How much Donny got for it.

How much Edward got for it.

How much Fleming etc. etc.



@@@ THIS IS CHOKE POINT TWO @@@

From your testimony;

"sold it to a collecter who refused to sell it back to the original owner."

If Donny refused to sell it back to Al, ...

(We can be 99.99% certain that at that point
Donny knew he was in possession of a stolen item.)

[ ... and furthermore that Donny still had it! ]

(If Donny lives in the same State as Al, it would
seem to me that Al could get a lawyer to invoke
some sort of } Subpoena Duces Tecum { clause
to FORCE Donny to sell it back to him.)


@@@~~~@@@

Should be end of the story here ...
However ...

Now you have it, and have had it for 2 years.

I'm unaware of what legal processes the State of
New York could do to you that they could not have
done to Donny.

.................



LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS !!

I think your girlfriend may not have given you all the information. I didn't mention a price, just offered to buy it back. I can't believe you'd rather be charged with a felony (recieving stolen property is a felony in Missouri) than see the bass returned to it's rightful owner. Particularly when you had the chance to actually get reimbursed for it.

Obviously I haven't given up on legally getting my bass back, it's not like I'm going to now.

Nick

I would contact a lawyer about this....I'm thinking there is some sort of statute of limitations.

there are a few other things going on here, but I think a lawyer is your best bet right now, if you want to keep the bass.

You're probably a "bona fide purchaser for value" (or some variation of those words - I haven't thought about this for a long time) and don't have anything to worry about. There might be something hinky because of the pawn shop in the middle of all this? I can't give you any advice but you can start by looking up the above term on wikipedia, etc. to get an idea of what you're dealing with. After you've done that, speak to both an attorney in your state and the state where the sale originated.

I'm sure everyone has their own take on this...but have you considered looking at this from the position of the original owner?

Alright, I've thought about this some more and I take back what I said about you being OK. I think you are a bona fide purchaser for value - but, I think you're probably screwed - "once stolen, always stolen" is the maxim that comes to mind. Here's the tricky part - different jurisdictions probably have different interpretations. So, once again, you're going to have to find an attorney who practices in the right jurisdiction.