The State - News from March 19, 1986

Thieves with good ears and strong backs managed to steal 16 costly upright pianos worth $82,000 from a Palo Alto music shop. “They moved a lot of pianos around to get the ones they wanted,” said Greg Wurm, manager of the store. “They cherry-picked the good ones.” The thieves sawed through metal bars to get inside the store, and, ignoring a cash register, a computer and 100 lesser pianos, loaded presumably several trucks with the uprights, including three German-made Schimmel pianos valued at $8,000 each. Police Capt. Lynne Johnson, who acknowledged that it must have taken “a little time” to load the pianos, said she did not know of a ready market for “hot” pianos. “It’s a little bit more difficult (to sell) one piano--let alone 16,” Johnson said.