Navy, citing 'pirates,' drags Corsair restorer to court
The Navy and the Department of Justice have set a trial date for a Princeton, Minnesota, aircraft restorer who took a Brewster F3A-1 Corsair (nope, it's not a Buffalo) out of the North Carolina mud in 1991. And they are looking for more airplane "pirates" like Lex Cralley. Cralley, a mechanic for airline ground equipment, was told March 16 that he must either accept the terms of a six-page gift of deed that warns of tax consequences or be prepared to go to trial and face the U.S. Department of Justice in July 2006. An attorney for the Naval Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia warns that she is pursuing a "stack of cases." Originally, Cralley was told to ship the hulk to the Navy until a congressman intervened last year. Cralley hopes to take the unrestored Corsair to Oshkosh for display this summer and adds that he might dress like a pirate.
The Corsair is gov't property that has been abandoned. He has to follow the rules of salvage, i.e. pay taxes, otherwise he is a pirate in the literal sense of the word. It seems odd but this is actually the term being used properly.
This is the same rule that applies to anyone recovering abonded property, whether it's a rusted car hulk or whats-his-name (Mel Fischer?) recovering the billion dollars in gold off the Atocha in the keys.
"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
Author
