02-26-2004, 11:27 PM
[size 2](Springfield, Massachusetts-AP) -- The new chairman of gun-maker Smith and Wesson has quit over publicity about his record as an armed robbery convict in Michigan. James Minder had been an outside director of the Springfield, Massachusetts, company. He resigned this week. Minder lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. He says 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. Minder's criminal record and imprisonment date to the 1950s and '60s. After leaving prison, he founded Spectrum Human Services, a nonprofit agency serving delinquent and disabled Michigan youths. [/size]
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