Man sentenced to prison for stealing Stradivarius violin

MILWAUKEE, July 24 (UPI) -- A Milwaukee man was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison Thursday for his part in the gunpoint robbery of a Stradivarius violin worth $5 million.

Universal K. Allah, 37, who pleaded guilty in May to a robbery-related charge, must also spend more than three years on probation.

The 300-year-old Lipinski Stradivarius was stolen in January from Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The robbery took place after Almond left a performance at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Allah and Salah Salahadyn, 42, were arrested a few days later. Nine days after it was stolen, the violin was found in good condition in a suitcase in an attic, reportedly because one of the suspects had given police information on its whereabouts.

Salahadyn, described by investigators as the planner of the theft, has not yet entered a plea. A woman who was arrested with the other two was released without charge.