Stolen Leicas?

[cpj]

Hello Leica folks--usually you find me on the Medium Format Forum but I've owned every

Leica since the M-3 over the last 46 years--actually a couple of older ones too, a IIIf and a

IIIg. NOW I own an M7 but I used to own two M7's until a year ago when I traded it toward

a very expensive Hasselblad lens.

 

With that as a prelude, I am turning to you Leica folks for a quick reference. I've been

offered a deal on a "new" M-7 originally sold in December 2005 to somebody other than

the guy who has it for sale today. One of those "if it sounds too good to be true, it

proabably is."

 

So, I have the name of the original owner and the serial number but need to know if there

is a registry anyplace of stolen Leica equipment. The original owner is not in the U. S.

which makes tracking him difficult, but I thought I might start somewhere. I do know how

to check for stolen cameras in the U.S. that have been reported to the police, and will do

so tomorrow. But does anybody know if there is anything on the web that might help me

check this out.

 

Thanks.

Peter

[rolfe_tessem]

Leica maintains a stolen camera registry via its website.

 

http://www.leica-camera.com/cgi-bin/overview.pl/en/snstatus

[arthuryeo]

Peter,

 

This website also has a registry ...

 

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/registry/

[cpj]

Thanks guys. I just checked the SN on those two sites suggested and got no hits, but people

don't always register right away. (I will check the NCIC Property Records tomorrow at work.)

[edlaurpic]

I was going to give you the info on the Leica registry, but then saw someone had already provided that to you.

 

I am curious as to how you check for stolen cameras in the U.S. I did not know there was a general stolen camera registry that was nationwide. I thought it was only local.

 

Also, I have a related strategic question of my own with which I have been grappling, and I would really like to get anyone's thoughts on this.

 

I had an extremely rare and very rare Leica stolen in 1983, which I reported to local police, but at the time there was no Leica registry of which I was aware. I followed up with the police for a couple of years, but nothing turned up.

 

Then a couple of years ago I heard about the Leica registry but I couldn't find any documentation with the serial number of the camera that had been stolen, so I couldn't register it with Leica. Then, a couple of months ago, during an "archeological dig" of my office, I found the documentation for the stolen camera and contacted Leica with the serial number. What I found out was that Leica registers the camera and serial number and the name of the person who reported it stolen. Then when someone who is considering buying a camera contacts Leica to see if it is "hot" Leica will tell them. Several things about this are unclear to me:

 

1. What if the thief has offered the camera to a third party who checks the registry and learns it is stolen? Does Leica maintain a list of people who check about a stolen Leica?

 

2. Does Leica notify the person who reported a camera stolen in the first place of the identity of persons who inquire as to whether a certain leica of a certain serial number is stolen?

 

3. What, if anything, does Leica do once it has received an inquiry about a camera that turns out to be stolen?

 

4. What if the person inquiring is an international hot camera "fence" and his purpose is simply to determine whether a certain is a known stolen camera or just an orphan. If that dishonest fence finds out it is stolen, why wouldn't that just provide the fence with notice so that he would make sure only to offer the camera to other shady people. Stolen art that is known to be stolen is sometimes sold in a black market to unscrupulous buyers who know the art is stolen and when they sell it they sell through the same fence or a similar unscrupulous fence. Bottom line for me is that I have contacted a couple of well known collectors and experts and informed them of the serial number of my stolen camera but I decided not to contact Leica as I am concerned that a person who gets his hands on my camera, after checking with Leica to find out is is stolen, will simply go underground from then on. What I am interested in doing is finding the camera and, if possible, tracing it back to the thief. If I find the camera, that should not be too difficult if I can obtain police assistance as this is a camera that would only have changed hands a few times because of its extreme rarity and value. What are you views of what I should do? Doe you think I should register the camera with Leica? (I have already spoken on the phone to the head of the registration program and told him about this, but I have not registered it yet for the resons described above. Sorry for the rambling nature of this email. I have trouble typing when I have blood in my eyes.

Your advice would be appreciated.

[pierre_claquin1]

There was a large stock of new Leica cameras and lenses stolen from Leica France several years ago. The list was published on the site of Leica France. I do not have the address of the site at hand.

[cpj]

The "registry" of stolen Leicas--guns, lenses, cameras, watches--and anything else with a

serial number is the NCIC Property category. It is maintained by the Federal Bureau of

Investigation with computer links to every law enforcement agency in the United States. It

is not "public" but for "official use only."

 

If you believe you are being offered stolen property for sale, and you can convince your

local police that your concern rises to the level of "reasonable suspicion" they will run an

NCIC--National Crime Information Center--computer check for you. If they get a hit, you

better be prepared to follow through with complete information for a criminal

investigation.