Potential pawn shop licenses tabled at committee meeting

Date: 1/6/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



CHICOPEE The city of Chicopee currently has only one listed pawnbroker operating within its limits. A Britton Street resident was hoping to add another to the city when he met with the License Committee on Dec. 29.

Cuong Ho, who has owned nail parlors and worked as a seller and trader on eBay, approached the License Committee for a new pawnbroker's license and a junk dealer's license for a shop of secondhand articles at 212 Exchange St. He was accompanied by his attorney, William Brown of Westfield, and a friend who served as an intrepreter when necessary.

Brown stated that his client would "abide by every single law, keeping records and books open to the police department at all times," that clients would need to be of age with valid identification to sell items and that Ho would record the dates and times each piece of merchandise was bought or sold.

"He will not buy anything that is stolen," Brown said. "We don't want a reputation as a fence [a person or business who deals in stolen goods]."

The proposed shop would not serve as a check cashing operation.

Ronald Belair, chair of the License Committee, asked what security measures Ho would be taking to protect against robbery. Ho said there would be a camera in the shop, an automatic switch from the inside so that only he could open the door and bars on the windows and door.

Belair was not in favor of the bars. "I don't want downtown Chicopee looking like a prison," he said.

"I'm also against the bars on the windows," Brown said. "He [Ho] wanted to put them up, but he won't if you don't want them."

"I don't see how you can make a pawn shop secure without them [bars]," Belair stated.

The committee also wanted to know if there would be someone else working in the store with Ho, as he isn't totally fluent in English. Ho said he was looking to have several employees.

Belair noted that the affidavit Ho had signed with his license application said he would be the sole proprietor and that there would be no additional employees.

"You could get unsavory characters in your shop," committee member Shane Brooks said. "I'm concerned about someone jumping into this business feet first."

Brooks told Reminder Publications that the License Committee gets applications for coin and collectible shops every so often, but this is the first pawn shop the committee has seen in a while. "They have stigmas attached to them. You attract the unsavory characters," he said.

Belair agreed, stating he was not comfortable moving forward with the license applications because "lots of questions were left unanswered."

Ho's applications were tabled until the end of January.