Posted on 03/24/2006 2:33:12 PM PST by csvset
San Francisco police have cracked the case of the vanishing violins.
Over the past few months, investigators say, a San Francisco man ordered at least three handcrafted violins -- worth as much as $25,000 apiece -- only to report either that they had disappeared off his doorstep or that he had never bought them in the first place.
Word spread within the close-knit community of violin-makers in the United States and Canada, and police soon had what they needed to put an end to the allegedly criminal performance.
On Wednesday, they arrested 27-year-old Tony Cheng on grand theft and stolen property charges and confiscated five violins from his Parnassus Heights home, including the three he allegedly said he had never received or ordered.
"We're not sure of what he was doing -- it's all kind of strange," said Lt. Tom Buckley of the burglary detail.
Police think Cheng intended to sell some of the finely crafted instruments. He probably did not intend to play them, burglary Inspector Rich Leon said.
"I've heard he is not a player, but I didn't ask him to play," Leon said.
The case dates to August, when Cheng e-mailed Raymond Schryer, a Canadian violin-maker in Ontario, with detailed specifications and instructions for his order.
The instrument-maker's wife, Mary Schryer, recalled that Cheng ordered a violin worth $14,000 and talked about buying bows.
"He was quite selective," she said. "He said his first instrument was piano, but he was also a violinist."
She said he had sent her several e-mails with technical questions about the instrument, including string specifications. "He knew what questions to ask," she said.
He put down a 20 percent deposit on his credit card, she said, and kept in touch. Once the instrument was done, she said, the couple sent it via
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Violin crime ping.
"What's this I hear about too much Sax and Violins on television?" - Miss Emely LaTella.
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