Fundraising for Rick at KT

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 13 Jul 2006 11:11:12 GMT  <== RKBA ==> 

Gary Marbut, the president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, is collecting donations to help Richard Celata, the proprietor of KT Ordnance. The BATFE raided KT Ordnance on June 7, and stole all of Rick's inventory of 80% frames. He may begin making them again soon, but he has been without income since then. He needs help with both personal and legal expenses. Please send anything you can afford. [clairefiles]

JPFO has posted this alert. There is Clairefiles discussion.

I'm going to keep this post at the top of the page for a while, so be sure to look beneath it for new stuff.

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Here's Mr. Marbut's entire release:

July 11, 2006

Dear Friends,

About fundraising to help Rick...

You have come here because you know that KT Ordnance of Dillon, Montana was raided by the BATFE, FBI and the Canadian ATF. KT manufactured what proprietor Rick calls "80% firearms" - incomplete frames that needed additional manufacturing work to be made into operable firearms.

Many of you have asked where you can send a contribution to help with Rick's legal and personal expenses. Thank you! Rick is without income for the time being and has personal expenses - feeding his family, etc. He will also have legal expenses. GOA will assist with legal research and consulting, but Rick must and does have a local attorney, one who I recommended for this situation.

I have suggested a first-step fundraising process to help defray Rick's expenses.

Here's what you can do: Send a check for whatever amount you wish, made payable to "MSSA", and put "Rick", and either "legal" or "personal" in the memo blank. I will deposit this in our account for the Montana Shooting Sports Association and track the legal and personal donations for Rick separately.

I will write MSSA checks against the amount received for this purpose to Rick's attorney for verified legal expenses, or to Rick himself for personal expenses. None (zero%) of the funds donated will be used for any MSSA administrative or handling fees. For oversight of this, I will be glad to provide documentation of receipts and disbursements on Rick's behalf to an oversight committee composed of Andy Lochridge and Claire Wolfe (and of course to MSSA's Treasurer). Send any check to my personal address at:

Gary Marbut
P.O. Box 16106
Missoula, Montana 59808

If you prefer to use credit card and PayPal (yeah, I know - a lot of folks don't like PayPal), there is a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=mssa@mtssa.org&item_name=Montana+Shooting+Sports+Association&no_shipping=1&return=http%3A%2F%2Fmtssa.org%2Fsuccesses.phtml&cancel_return=http%3A%2F%2Fmtssa.org%2Fmembership.phtml">PayPal donation button on the MSSA Website. Mark "Rick" and either "legal" or "personal" under special instructions if you use this option.

PLEASE NOTE: MSSA is NOT a tax exempt organization, so your donation will NOT be tax-deductible. MSSA is deliberately not tax exempt because that status would limit our ability to operate as the pro-gun junkyard dog of politics (what some call us here in Montana).

Finally, if you'd like to bypass this step, you can always send a check directly to Rick at:

Richard Celata
KT Ordnance
382 Adams Lane
Dillon, Montana 59725

Feel free to forward and cross-post or link to this message.

Thanks for your help!!!

Best wishes,
Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

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Comments (5):

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Submitted by Paul on Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:27:29 GMT

Glad to read such a nice piece of information.

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I liked your kind and

Submitted by Shaun Krislock on Fri, 28 Jul 2006 04:33:53 GMT

I liked your kind and sympathetic disposition towards Rick. Pity him but if the assets were the result of black money, then he undoubtedly deserved the consequences. Still i liked your piece of information.
http://www.gostopsmokingonline.info

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Black money? For selling pieces of machined metal?

Submitted by on Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:42:49 GMT

Black money? For selling pieces of machined metal? Metal that is supposed to be protected. What part of "shall not be infringed" do people not understand.

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Rick isn't a criminal.

Submitted by Justin Buist on Sun, 30 Jul 2006 07:47:04 GMT

I took the time to trek from Michigan to Montana to meet up with Rick at his open house event just a couple of weeks ago.

I've been in his shop. I've shot various rifles in his back yard. I've had lunch with him. I've met (briefly) his wife and children. I've seen his house. I've seen the vehicles he drives. I've seen how his neighbors react to him.

This man is no criminal. While it is very easy to commit a crime due to ignorance when it comes to gun parts I do not believe Rick is somebody that is capable of doing this. He's too detail oriented. He is very specific and quite intelligent.

If Rick has violated any laws (and I doubt that he has) they would have to be rather obvious laws. That is, if he's violated the law he's done it intentionally, and the offense could be rather flaggrant.

Further, if Rick has been selling illegal weapons it sure doesn't reflect in his lifestyle. He leads a simple life. I've seen his residence, and his vehicles, and if this man is illegally making firearms I have no idea where the money is going. Sure, it could be stowed away in a bank account somewhere, but I highly doubt that as he's asking for donations to his legal fund.

He's far too ethical to ask for money if he already has plenty.

I've also met Gary Marbut. He too was out at the KT Ordnance Open House and my opinion of this man is just as high as Rick himself. Gary would not be stepping up and soliciting funds for Rick if Rick was a criminal or if Rick had been stowing away money from illegal arms sales and was funded well enough to defend himself.

Of course, my perception is colored becuase I am biased against the Federal government and all their agencies. I admit that. On this trip I took with me a buddy of mine that's far more trusting of the Federal government. He's shipping out to Basic Training for the Army come mid-August.

His take on the above men was the same as mine. They're good men. Honest men. For what it's worth my buddy also has a degree in psychology. He can spot crazy people. On the same note there are a number of people in my family with mental issues as well as criminals. I can spot a crazy person or a criminal person with ease.

Rick didn't set off any warnings for either of us.

Rick's a good guy. His children are well behaved. His wife was very polite. His dogs are absolutely adorable and overly friendly. His neighbors wave when they drive by. The local Sheriff was on his side during the raid, got Rick out of the house before it started, and allowed Rick to call his wife to get her and the kids out before it started.

I'd love to have such a man as my neighbor. He's no criminal. He's an American -- and a damned good one at that.

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Unstickied

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:56:46 GMT

I unstickied this page. Haven't heard any news about Richard in a while, so I assume he's doing OK.

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