Popular Katy, TX gun store becoming Choke Point victim

[Hypnogator]

The Katy, TX gun store which became famous for running anti-Obama sayings on its sign appears to be the latest victim of Operation Choke Point. Political revenge?

http://www.mrconservative.com/2014/06/44035-obamas-doj-shutting-down-popular-texas-gun-store/
:banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[hso]

Have you cooroborated this or just passing along without due diligance?

 

[dogtown tom]

It's called Karma.......

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...eremy-alcede-gets-a-lesson-supply-and-demand/

The owner, Jeremy Alcede was on radio and tv blabbing about how the Stop Online Ammunition sales bill was a good thing.

He wasn't worried about the Second Amendment then, so why should we care about his business problems now.

 

[dogtown tom]

Here's a good thread at ar15. Too many red flags to blame it on Choke Point.
http:// http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_8/561261_Tactical_Firearms_Katy_being_shut_down_.html

 

[12131]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...eremy-alcede-gets-a-lesson-supply-and-demand/

The owner, Jeremy Alcede was on radio and tv blabbing about how the Stop Online Ammunition sales bill was a good thing.

He wasn't worried about the Second Amendment then, so why should we care about his business problems now.

Yup. That saga, and the one when he gave Piers Morgan a whole show at his store, then whined about it later, when he "was misrepresented" by Morgan, when the show actually aired.
Trying to get free advertising, really, then cried about it, when it backfired on you. What did you expect? That Morgan was going to be fair and balanced?

 

[Hypnogator]

Have you cooroborated this or just passing along without due diligance?

FWIW
http://tacticalfirearms.us/
Not one of their customers, and don't condone the negative points that other members have pointed out, but still think it's just deplorable that a legitimate business can be targeted for elimination by our ever-so-benign government.

 

[Art Eatman]

Regardless of this owner's flaws and faults, it is indeed fact that some banks are ending service to gun stores, even though the loans are good, performing loans (or lines of credit).

 

[alsaqr]

There's a lot going on here:

1. Tactical Firearms entered into a loan consolidation agreement with the bank.

2. A 30 percent owner of the company backed out then it came time to re- finance the short term loan for the land. That put the business in jeopardy.

3. A member of the bank board owns a new gun store in the Houston area.

4. The owner of Tactical Fireams shilled for of elimination of online ammunition sales on the Piers Morgan show.

5. There's that pesky thing with the feds.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Acting for Due Diligence. I received the email and several others following and Tactical is my dealer so I tried to do what they asked for today.

They have always treated me well and I was one of their early customers when they were at their other store. I bought from them and have transferred a bunch of stuff through them with no issues.

Regardless of how you feel about the past issues, the place is well run, the counter help is actually helpful and they keep the place clean and tidy.

Guys, if they can take out Tactical and get them to shut down by calling in the loan, who is to say they won't come after your gun store? Prior to Tactical there was basically nothing on the west side but Academy unless you wanted to drive all the way down to Fountain or Collectors.

I ask on behalf of my dealer to cut them some slack and try to help. Would not you do this for your dealer when it is your turn and their loans are called in or their credit card processing service is declined?

 

[bodam]

More to this story than choke point. This is a business venture problem between them and their bank. Not sure if if even has anything to do with choke point.

This has to do with the need to renegotiate existing outstanding loans, and the fact that they won't agree to terms with their bank. Then they turn around and blame it on Obama.

And they got their story on the news tonight. Lol.

I can live without this store personally. Every time I've tried to spend money there, I've been treated like crap.

 

[texasgun]

Banks are there to make money. If a gun store pays the agreed on interest rates - they would be dumb (and lose business left and right) if they would stop the loans.

I've visited a dozen gun stores / ranges in the DFW area and they are doing just fine.

Agreeing on bad loan terms with your bank and then refusing to stick to the contract is bad for business. Kinda like promoting an online ammo sale ban to shut down competition.

 

[medalguy]

From what I have read, it sounds like the culmination of several bad business practices, or sloppy practices at best. You have to do your homework in business whenever you enter into any kind of loan agreement. Apparently they "thought" they were good without checking out every eventuality.

 

[rdhood]

I ask on behalf of my dealer to cut them some slack and try to help.

No. Any gun store owner who advocates for the elimination of online ammunition sales ( which would enrich his own pockets) on national TV can just go bankrupt as far as I am concerned. Any gun store owner who believes that eliminating online ammunition sales will "save our guns" is stupid ( his quote "Threatened that they would sign something into law that banned firearms and this ammo deal seemed like an easy compromise.")

This guy is persona non grata in my book. You already know his true position on things: that he would sell gun owners down the river if it makes him an extra buck.

 

[JohnnyK]

this is one of my personal local gun stores... ive seen them go from a tiny store to a big store and range with about 30 employees. i have spent some coin there and put many rounds down range and have always been treated very well... i certainly hope they work out a new deal. while Jeremy isnt perfect it would suck to see them shut down... im confident that location will stay around as a gun store as it would be hard to convert to anything else.

 

[KTXdm9]

These guys are local to me. While there are plenty of Operation Chokepoint victims, seems like there's plenty of problems to go around in this instance.

 

[Davek1977]

Would not you do this for your dealer when it is your turn and their loans are called in or their credit card processing service is declined?

For MY dealer, yes....MY dealer has never spoken up about wanting online ammo sales banned, nor gave Piers Morgan the time of day. MY dealer would get my support, but MY dealer wouldn't take part in these sorts of shenanigans, or they would no longer be MY dealer. My dealer is interested in protecting the 2nd Amendment, not free publicity and elimination of competition. MY dealer and THIS dealer are, fundamentally worlds apart in some respects, making what I'd do for MY dealer irrelevant to Tactical Firearms.

 

[Rob G]

I've been in this store many times and I can honestly say I won't miss them. It's a big store but not really a good one and I can't abide the owner's philosophy on shutting down online ammunition sales.

I also have a friend, whom I trust, that is close to the owner and had confided in me before that there's an awful lot of embezzling going on in that business, and has been for years. Obviously I can't prove that but if true it provides a bit of insight in to why this store might be having problems.

I did have one question though that maybe some of our FFL holders could answer. In the article it talks about the NFA items they're holding and those having to be resubmitted if the business goes under. I'm wondering how true that actually is. I mean I get it that they might lose their property, but wouldn't the business still technically exist? Wouldn't the owner continue to hold his FFL? I mean if he wanted to isn't there a way he could continue to retain those paid for items until the tax stamps come through?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I ask on behalf of my dealer to cut them some slack and try to help.

I don't think it is helpful to bail out businesses that engage in bad business practices.

Would not you do this for your dealer when it is your turn and their loans are called in or their credit card processing service is declined?

The gun store put itself in jeopardy when it took that loan in order to buy new property and expand. Nobody forced them to do it. It is their fault for taking a loan that could be called in at any time and doing so without the means to cover such a loan should it happen.

As alsaqr, there are a lot of things going on wrong with this business, but which I will add that several are their own fault because of bad business practices. It looks even worse when they start blaming everybody else. Playing the victim card here does not wash.

 

[Tirod]

While there are plenty of Operation Chokepoint victims,

Any links to that?

I'm not saying it's not happening, what we see here is likely low hanging fruit for the Administration. They don't need to expend much political capital to shut down a business for a bank loan that the lender feels is sketchy.

It's a consolidation loan - didn't work out - risky in a time when gun sales are at record highs? I doubt the bank was even asked by anyone to reconsider. They already had red flags up.

Now, show me a business in good standing where The Government moved to pressure a lender to refuse it a loan - in this market - and maybe there's a case. But to my way of thinking, it's just a talking point with more hype than substance and it's being used to deflect our attention from other issues, like, oh, gee, what was that called, yeah, Fast and Furious.

You want a conspiracy theory, were any of these distressed dealers running shops that had AR's walk across the border? Shutting them down means the business records are no longer available, the FFL books become inaccessible, nobody can pry into the last few years records, etc.

I think statements like this are creating an illusion there is a big problem:

Thousands of gun retailers have had their bank accounts forcibly closed, despite engaging in no illegal activity whatsoever.
Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/stunner-obama-scheme-shutting-legal-gun-stores/#q08kExtaE0uEZ5Gm.99

If it's really happening, then I want to see a list of the THOUSANDS of gun dealers who are affected. Otherwise I have to think it's just right wing hype to churn up the masses, same as the erroneous "school shootings" stats that were found to be 80% wrong.

Thousands? That means plural, minimum two - 2 - to make it happen, so 2000 dealers divided by 50 states equal 40 in YOUR state with banking loans in the trash can.

Ask YOUR dealer is there's a problem and I doubt anyone will come up with five, much less 40 statewide. I realize demographics and reality shift the numbers - there are more gun dealers in the Bentonville/Fayetteville metros than SW MO. Name the ones who are shutting down.

If they don't make up any more than the normal numbers who go under, then we've proven there's no teeth to Operation Chokepoint and it's all just another political sham.

 

[dogtown tom]

Rob G ....In the article it talks about the NFA items they're holding and those having to be resubmitted if the business goes under. I'm wondering how true that actually is.

It's not true at all.
ATF has dealt with bankrupt gun shops before.

I mean I get it that they might lose their property, but wouldn't the business still technically exist? Wouldn't the owner continue to hold his FFL?

If the FFL is issued to a corporation, the owner(s) of the corporation hold the FFL. They may have to change the name of the responsible person(s).

I mean if he wanted to isn't there a way he could continue to retain those paid for items until the tax stamps come through?

Not if he's locked out of his own building.

 

[dogtown tom]

Tirod ......Shutting them down means the business records are no longer available, the FFL books become inaccessible, nobody can pry into the last few years records, etc.

If "the bank" forecloses on the business, ATF will still take possession of the dealers bound books, 4473's, etc because it's Federal law that the do,

Just like a dealer who voluntarily shuts down his business must surrender his bound book and records to ATF.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

SAD to here this. I Hate for folks to have troubles.

 

[dogtown tom]

Page 2 of this thread on AR15 has court documents with some pretty interesting allegations against Mr Alcede from his business partner.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_8/561261_Tactical_Firearms_Katy_being_shut_down_.html&page=2

 

[Bruno2]

Sounds like Wilson may have contacted the IRS in order not to be prosecuted for the misconduct of his business partner. I don't think this is a situation where the IRS targeted a conservative, right leaning business to harass. I believe this is just good old fashioned snitching to keep from going to prison or having their life ruined for the actions of their crooked business partner.

 

[thump_rrr]

Sounds like Wilson may have contacted the IRS in order not to be prosecuted for the misconduct of his business partner. I don't think this is a situation where the IRS targeted a conservative, right leaning business to harass. I believe this is just good old fashioned snitching to keep from going to prison or having their life ruined for the actions of their crooked business partner.

So Wilson put in $3,000,000 for 30% of the company.
Alcede and his wife put in only " Sweat Equity" for their 70%
The line of credit was a liability with Wilson's name on it.

Alcede and his wife were allegedly siphoning around $20,000 per month in addition to purchases from Prada and Neiman Marcus, Caribbean vacations and Jewelery.
They were also allegedly diverting the $8,000-$12,000 per month from the scrap brass of the shooting range instead of paying their suppliers and Wilson is "a snitch"????