Music

The Italian Job, Only with Vintage Guitars

Back in October 2006, 157 incredibly rare guitars were stolen from an Italian collector named Pierpaolo Adda.  The best guess was that Serbian gangsters broke into the Guitar Ranch in Verona and made off with the instruments.  In the haul were Les Pauls, Stratocasters, Telecasters and Rickenbackers.

What would criminals do with so many rare guitars?  Certainly not sit around and jam, right?  The goods had to be properly fenced.  But how?

Adda sent out a list of the stolen guitars to rare guitar dealers around the world hoping that a lead would be generated when someone tried to sell off one of the stolen instruments.  It worked.

Several guitars from the theft were traced back to a father-and-son team, Rick and Justin Harrison, owners of music shops called Music Ground in the UK.  Investigators traced thirty of the 157 stolen guitars back to them in a raid in 2009.  They’ve now been convicted on a variety of charges.

It’s a fascinating story worth of an art-theft caper.  Read more here.

 

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38031 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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