Smith & Wesson chairman quits over criminal record
By Associated Press



SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The new chairman of the board of Smith & Wesson's parent company resigned following reports that he committed a string of armed robberies in the 1950s and 1960s.

James Joseph Minder, who had been an outside director of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., said he submitted his resignation voluntarily at a directors meeting this week.

"I felt it was the best thing for the company, given the circumstances," Minder, 74, told The Republican newspaper in Springfield for Thursday's editions.

Company officials did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. The newspaper said the gun maker was expected to name a replacement on Friday.

The resignation by Minder, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., came three weeks after The Arizona Republic reported that he had spent more than 10 years in Michigan prisons in the 1950s and 1960s for a string of armed robberies and an attempted prison escape.

Minder said he didn't disclose his criminal past to the other directors of the 150-year-old gun company prior to his election as chairman in mid-January.