Police Find Stolen 300-Year-Old Stradivarius

Three arrested in connection with case
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 6, 2014 1:43 PM CST
Police Find Stolen 300-Year-Old Stradivarius
Concertmaster Frank Almond plays a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin that was on loan to him during a concert in Milwaukee, in this undated photo.   (AP Photo/Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

Ah, the sweet sound of justice. Police have arrested three people in connection with the armed theft of a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin, and recovered the instrument, which is valued at a hefty $5 million. Police consulted Taser International about the stun gun used in the robbery, and traced it to a 36-year-old named Universal Allah, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Tips from citizens also identified another suspect: 42-year-old Salah Jones, who was convicted nearly 20 years ago for another art theft, in which he swiped a $25,000 sculpture called "Woman with Fruit" from a Milwaukee art gallery.

A third suspect, a 32-year-old woman, was also arrested, but she has not been named. The victim of the robbery, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond, told police one man and one woman committed the crime, CBS 58 points out. The instrument itself was found in a suitcase in the attic of a friend of the three suspects, the Milwaukee Business Journal reports. Milwaukee's mayor called it a "wonderful day," and praised the case as "a model of cooperation with the FBI." (More Stradivarius violin stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X