Violinist attacked with stun gun, famous Stradivarius stolen

[Black]

International intrigue?
http://news.yahoo.com/stradivarius-stole...06427.html

[hal]

How much is a 'hot' Stradivarius worth?

edit: do you realize that the title sounds like a gang of violinists hit the streets armed with stun guns and stole a Stradivarius? That would make a much better cartoon plot...

[SDGuy]

note to self - don't walk around with something worth close to $10M...

Maybe he should get one of these for carrying around in public

[Wags]

Keep an eye on Craig's List

[steve...]

I don't know all the details, but with something that valuable, he should have had armed guards escorting him.

[$tevie]

Did you notice the comments under the article? Several of them accused the violinist of faking the robbery in order to sell the violin (which was an indefinite loan from a benefactor). People love conspiracies.

[Gutenberg]

$tevie wrote:
Did you notice the comments under the article? Several of them accused the violinist of faking the robbery in order to sell the violin (which was an indefinite loan from a benefactor). People love conspiracies.

This was NOT a garden-variety mugging. We're talking about a robber who knows what a Strad is, what this one is worth, when the concertmaster would be playing and where, and how to get to him after the concert. The cops are not leafing through their usual mug books on this one. It's an insider, if not an inside, job. I don't think the victim arranged for it, though, because if he had, he would never have been able to play the Strad in public, because people would recognize it, and that's the point, isn't it? To perform with the Stradivarius.

[NewtonMP2100]

so this is Violins......violence.....???

[dk62]

Well, a couple of days ago I heard on NPR about a Stradivarius being played at a concert in Philadelphia, and they gave a description of how rare and valuable those are and that they are mostly in the hands of foundations that give them out on long-term loans. So anyone listening to that program may have gotten ideas. Does not have to be an inside job.

[Black]

Gutenberg wrote:
[quote=$tevie]
Did you notice the comments under the article? Several of them accused the violinist of faking the robbery in order to sell the violin (which was an indefinite loan from a benefactor). People love conspiracies.

This was NOT a garden-variety mugging. We're talking about a robber who knows what a Strad is, what this one is worth, when the concertmaster would be playing and where, and how to get to him after the concert. The cops are not leafing through their usual mug books on this one. It's an insider, if not an inside, job. I don't think the victim arranged for it, though, because if he had, he would never have been able to play the Strad in public, because people would recognize it, and that's the point, isn't it? To perform with the Stradivarius.
This thing is goingto be so hard to fence (its value hinges on its identity) that my psychic read on this (having researched it last night) is that someone to whom this violin means something 'ordered' the theft.... I wouldn't be surprised if it turns up somewhere not too far from Poland one day.