To the other gun store owners in central Indiana:
Please take note and avoid the pitfalls that Fred fell into. Not only the criminal allegations, but also the seemingly massive record keeping blunders.
I am not among the Fred bashers. I actually loved his store. He kept in stock a lot of rare and obscure firearms that I was always interested in. I was able to hold in my hands a lot of cool guns that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise--no other shop has a comparable inventory. Lol, I mean he had stuff in his shop that you couldn't find at the 1500 on a good day!
I also saw through Fred's sometimes abrasive facade to a man who has been running the same small business for 40 years and has become very set in his ways.
My first firearm purchase was at his store, and I have made a lot of very positive memories there. I do not excuse criminal malfeasance. But even if he is convicted and guilty of all charges, I will miss him and his store dearly.
Nevertheless, I don't want to lose ANY MORE gun shops to the ATF's christmas tree; so please, for all of our sakes, keep on the up and up!!!
While I don't agree with anything this guy did I will say I heard today he had a heart attack last year and was letting his books go south. Not an excuse but will be brought up in court I'm sure.
He deserves to be put out of business and jailed for that mess.
Bear in mind that he hasn't been convicted of anything yet. This is just the list of charges. He's still innocent until he has his day in court.
Bear in mind that he hasn't been convicted of anything yet. This is just the list of charges. He's still innocent until he has his day in court.
Bear in mind that he hasn't been convicted of anything yet. This is just the list of charges. He's still innocent until he has his day in court.
Unless the ATF is outright lying in their report, which I doubt, they have audio and video evidence of all of the undercover transactions. That's pretty damning.