Stolen Guns from Colt Museum Found!

[Cemetery]

PATERSON - After being tipped off that someone was seeking to sell vintage guns on the Internet, city police on November 29 recovered two19th century Colt revolvers, along with a replica, that were stolen from the Paterson Museum more 12 years ago, said Lt. Ronald Humphrey.

 

The two guns, manufactured in Paterson between 1837 and 1840, were worth more than $200,000, said police. It seems they spent the past several years stashed in the insulation of a house in Butler, according to authorities.

 

Humphrey said the guns were stolen back in September 1998, during a break-in at the museum on Market Street. Nothing ever turned up about them until November 29, when police received a tip about the Internet posting about vintage guns for sale by someone in Butler.

 

Detectives Anthony Castronova and Todd Pearl made arrangements to meet the seller in Garfield, where he provided them with a Colt Paterson #1 pocket, baby, revolver and a Colt Paterson #3, belt model revolver, as well as a Colt replica. Police then called in museum director Giacomo Destefano, who identified the revolvers as those that had been stolen 12 years ago.

 

The man who tried to sell the guns to the detectives told police he had found the vintage weapons lodged in the insulation while he was working on his attic, Humphrey said. After reviewing the man's e-mail, police determined he likely was not the person who stole the guns. The man, who authorities are not identifying, told police he had bought the house about five or six years ago.

 

The man has not been charged with any crime and he is cooperating with police in their investigation. Authorities are still trying to track down the person who stole the guns. "We don't believe he's the suspect,'' Humphrey said of the seller.

 

The Pocket, or Baby, model Colt Paterson #1 revolver, was the smallest model made by Samuel Colt, according to the Colt Collectors Association web site. There were about 500 of them made in 1837 and 1838, the site said. About 450 of the Belt Model #3 were manufactured in Paterson from 1837 to 1840, according to the web site.

 

In the 1998 burglary from the museum, three vintage revolvers and one replica were stolen. "One's still out there,'' Humphrey said.

 

Article > http://www.thealternativepress.com/article...seum-in-1998--2

[Badlands Beady]

It's the same problem art thieves face. You steal something unique like that, and what do you do with it? You can't tell anyone or leave it out where someone can see it, and selling it almost always draws attention.

 

Hope the attic was dry.

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

Thankfully he didn't just turn 'em in for a $50 gift card for Big Macs and some sneakers.