A man turned down the offer of a Stradivarius for £100 because his daughter already had a recorder

Thieves who stole a £1.2 million Stradivarius violin tried to sell it for £100 to a man sitting next to them in an internet café, a court heard today.

The man turned it down because his daughter already had a recorder, Blackfriars crown court was told.

The previous day, Irish traveller John Maughan, 40, had used two teenage accomplices to act as decoys so that he could snatch the instrument from under the nose of acclaimed musician Min-Jin Kym as she ate in a Pret a Manger at Euston station.

Not realising what they had, the thieves were spotted researching the violin in the internet café in Tottenham Court Road the next day.

Miss Kym, 32, who is signed to record label Sony BMG, bought the violin 10 years ago for £750,000. It is valued at £1.2 million but her insurance only covers the £750,000 she paid for it.

via Thieves tried to sell £1.2 million stolen Stradivarius violin for £100 in café | News.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.