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Gardner case gun firm stays low-key
Gift to police board chair puts Para-Ordnance in spotlight
Scarborough firm workers charged in 2001 firearms case
MAUREEN MURRAY
STAFF REPORTER
Ted Szabo, owner of Para-Ordnance Manufacturing Inc., thinks Canada is a tough place to be a handgun maker.
"There is a stigma attached to this business basically, which is not really the greatest feeling," Szabo lamented in an interview yesterday. "You tend to feel guilty by saying you're a gun manufacturer and we shouldn't."
Szabo, who started the Scarborough company in the mid-1980s, is feeling more discomfort these days since Para-Ordnance was thrust into the spotlight over a controversial gift of a .45-calibre Tac-Four handgun, a gun the company promotes on its Web site as having the "ultimate sweet, smooth trigger."
Norm Gardner, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, was the recipient of the handgun and it has landed him in turmoil with his colleagues.
The Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services has been asked by the police services board to investigate whether Gardner acted appropriately by accepting the gun from Thanos Polyzos, Szabo's partner at Para-Ordnance, in February. Gardner provided Polyzos with an introduction to help the company get an exhibitor's booth at a reduced rate at the 2001 International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Toronto.
The provincial body is expected to decide some time this week whether it will look into the incident, which saw Gardner eventually pay $700 for the gun after his name surfaced in a wiretap in an unrelated OPP investigation of a Stouffville sporting goods store, where the former politician picked up the firearm. It retails for $1,200 to $1,500 (Canadian).
Gardner has said he did nothing wrong and pointed out that in the end, Para-Ordnance paid $7,500 (Canadian) for its exhibitors booth, while many from south of the border ended up paying only $1,200 (U.S.) for theirs.
Szabo wasn't keen to discuss the matter yesterday. His only comment was: "I think it's blown out of proportion."
Byron Lutcher, past president of the Toronto Revolver Club, called Para-Ordnance guns the "Corvettes of their class."
"They're very high quality, well sought after self-loading handguns. They're very popular."
Among handgun enthusiasts, particularly in the United States, Para-Ordnance is well known by those who enjoy firing powerful pistols on shooting ranges.
But to most Canadians, the company certainly isn't a household name.
"We're kind of low profile. The majority of our weapons are sold outside Canada.
"It's not a very popular thing in Canada, so we just like to keep quiet," Szabo said in a telephone interview.
Although Szabo has in the past shied away from mainstream media, he has opened his factory door to tours for writers from U.S. gun magazines, even offering them test shootings. An article in Guns & Ammo magazine in 1996 referred to Szabo as a "highly gifted and ingenious firearms designer."
Tougher gun control laws make Canada "not a hospitable place to sell handguns," Szabo said.
Szabo, 57, who immigrated to Canada as a child with his family after the Hungarian uprising in 1956, said he really doesn't mind that. "I grew up here. I consider this my home."
In the interview, Szabo spoke of his distress in 2001 when three Para-Ordnance employees were charged, accused of smuggling gun parts out of the factory and reassembling the weapons for sale. The charges have not been proved and the case is still before the courts.
Since then, Szabo said he has tightened security at his factory. "We have improved all entrances and exits all through the shop. We put in card readers and no one can go through any door. Only authorized people can pass. We have metal detectors and only one exit and entrance," Szabo said.
Before the 2001 case, Szabo's partner Polyzos appeared before a House of Commons committee a number of times to describe the company's safeguards and argue against some provisions of the gun-control legislation under review at the time.
Polyzos, who is co-founder and vice-president of Para-Ordnance and a childhood friend of Szabo's, told a parliamentary committee in 1995 the company had more than 100 employees and generated revenues in the "tens of millions of dollars from export sales."
Szabo started Para-Ordnance with Polyzos in 1985. Szabo initially started the company by developing a submachine gun which fired only paintballs.
Para-Ordnance caught the attention of the gun industry when Szabo introduced a high-calibre pistol which doubled the ammunition capacity of the classic Colt 1911-style handgun.
Nearly all of the company's handguns are exported abroad. About 65 per cent of their business is in the U.S., Szabo said.
"We sell in Canada about 250 to 300 guns a year." About 50 per cent of the guns are sold to the military and law enforcement agencies, he said.
In the past, a Para-Ordnance handgun was the weapon of choice for the FBI's hostage rescue team.
The pistols are also heavily marketed to the recreational shooting community, particularly high-precision marksmen. Numerous dealers in the U.S. sell Para-Ordnance's pistols, and gun publications and Web sites sing the company's praises.
One delighted new female gun owner raved she was hooked by the "incomparable sweetness of the trigger. The grip fits my hand better than a glove," she wrote.
Szabo said he believes Peel Region police are using some Para-Ordnance weapons.
Surprisingly, Szabo said he isn't much of a gun enthusiast. "I'm not into weapons. I just make them. Sometimes I'll shoot them. But I'm more into motorcycles and cars."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...546&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Gift to police board chair puts Para-Ordnance in spotlight
Scarborough firm workers charged in 2001 firearms case
MAUREEN MURRAY
STAFF REPORTER
Ted Szabo, owner of Para-Ordnance Manufacturing Inc., thinks Canada is a tough place to be a handgun maker.
"There is a stigma attached to this business basically, which is not really the greatest feeling," Szabo lamented in an interview yesterday. "You tend to feel guilty by saying you're a gun manufacturer and we shouldn't."
Szabo, who started the Scarborough company in the mid-1980s, is feeling more discomfort these days since Para-Ordnance was thrust into the spotlight over a controversial gift of a .45-calibre Tac-Four handgun, a gun the company promotes on its Web site as having the "ultimate sweet, smooth trigger."
Norm Gardner, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, was the recipient of the handgun and it has landed him in turmoil with his colleagues.
The Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services has been asked by the police services board to investigate whether Gardner acted appropriately by accepting the gun from Thanos Polyzos, Szabo's partner at Para-Ordnance, in February. Gardner provided Polyzos with an introduction to help the company get an exhibitor's booth at a reduced rate at the 2001 International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Toronto.
The provincial body is expected to decide some time this week whether it will look into the incident, which saw Gardner eventually pay $700 for the gun after his name surfaced in a wiretap in an unrelated OPP investigation of a Stouffville sporting goods store, where the former politician picked up the firearm. It retails for $1,200 to $1,500 (Canadian).
Gardner has said he did nothing wrong and pointed out that in the end, Para-Ordnance paid $7,500 (Canadian) for its exhibitors booth, while many from south of the border ended up paying only $1,200 (U.S.) for theirs.
Szabo wasn't keen to discuss the matter yesterday. His only comment was: "I think it's blown out of proportion."
Byron Lutcher, past president of the Toronto Revolver Club, called Para-Ordnance guns the "Corvettes of their class."
"They're very high quality, well sought after self-loading handguns. They're very popular."
Among handgun enthusiasts, particularly in the United States, Para-Ordnance is well known by those who enjoy firing powerful pistols on shooting ranges.
But to most Canadians, the company certainly isn't a household name.
"We're kind of low profile. The majority of our weapons are sold outside Canada.
"It's not a very popular thing in Canada, so we just like to keep quiet," Szabo said in a telephone interview.
Although Szabo has in the past shied away from mainstream media, he has opened his factory door to tours for writers from U.S. gun magazines, even offering them test shootings. An article in Guns & Ammo magazine in 1996 referred to Szabo as a "highly gifted and ingenious firearms designer."
Tougher gun control laws make Canada "not a hospitable place to sell handguns," Szabo said.
Szabo, 57, who immigrated to Canada as a child with his family after the Hungarian uprising in 1956, said he really doesn't mind that. "I grew up here. I consider this my home."
In the interview, Szabo spoke of his distress in 2001 when three Para-Ordnance employees were charged, accused of smuggling gun parts out of the factory and reassembling the weapons for sale. The charges have not been proved and the case is still before the courts.
Since then, Szabo said he has tightened security at his factory. "We have improved all entrances and exits all through the shop. We put in card readers and no one can go through any door. Only authorized people can pass. We have metal detectors and only one exit and entrance," Szabo said.
Before the 2001 case, Szabo's partner Polyzos appeared before a House of Commons committee a number of times to describe the company's safeguards and argue against some provisions of the gun-control legislation under review at the time.
Polyzos, who is co-founder and vice-president of Para-Ordnance and a childhood friend of Szabo's, told a parliamentary committee in 1995 the company had more than 100 employees and generated revenues in the "tens of millions of dollars from export sales."
Szabo started Para-Ordnance with Polyzos in 1985. Szabo initially started the company by developing a submachine gun which fired only paintballs.
Para-Ordnance caught the attention of the gun industry when Szabo introduced a high-calibre pistol which doubled the ammunition capacity of the classic Colt 1911-style handgun.
Nearly all of the company's handguns are exported abroad. About 65 per cent of their business is in the U.S., Szabo said.
"We sell in Canada about 250 to 300 guns a year." About 50 per cent of the guns are sold to the military and law enforcement agencies, he said.
In the past, a Para-Ordnance handgun was the weapon of choice for the FBI's hostage rescue team.
The pistols are also heavily marketed to the recreational shooting community, particularly high-precision marksmen. Numerous dealers in the U.S. sell Para-Ordnance's pistols, and gun publications and Web sites sing the company's praises.
One delighted new female gun owner raved she was hooked by the "incomparable sweetness of the trigger. The grip fits my hand better than a glove," she wrote.
Szabo said he believes Peel Region police are using some Para-Ordnance weapons.
Surprisingly, Szabo said he isn't much of a gun enthusiast. "I'm not into weapons. I just make them. Sometimes I'll shoot them. But I'm more into motorcycles and cars."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...546&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154