The chairman of Smith & Wesson, the nations second largest gun manufacturer, has resigned after it was discovered he was convicted for armed robbery while he was a student at the University of Michigan.
“NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – James Joseph Minder, chairman of handgun maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., resigned after a published report revealed he’d spent as much as 15 years in prison decades ago for armed robberies and a bank heist. […]
Minder, 74, had spent time in prison in the 1950s and 1960s for a string of armed robberies and an attempted prison escape, according to the Republic. During that time, the Detroit News said he was known for carrying a 16-gauge, sawed-off shotgun.
Minder was sentenced to 3-1/2 to 10 years in state prison for robbing a store while attending University of Michigan as a journalism student, he told the Republic.
Minder also told the paper that he turned his life around after finishing his prison sentence in 1969. He said he has spent his professional career trying to help kids after receiving a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, a bachelor of arts in sociology and a master of arts in social work, all earned from the University of Michigan. … “