A principal flutist with the New York Philharmonic can take a luftpause after a thief swiped her prized instruments from a Upper West Side bar early today and cops later found them.
Musician Alexandra Sopp, 28, was out with friends at the Dive Bar on Amsterdam Avenue when she suddenly noticed that her purse — containing a prized flute and piccolo worth a combined $42,000 — was missing just before 3 a.m.
“Public Safety Announcement! Ladies and Gentlemen, WATCH YOUR FLUTES! “ Sopp wrote on her Facebook page after the incident. “Turned my back, guy reaches through window and takes my bag.”
According to Sopp, a “local crackhead” came to her rescue. Having witnessed the purse snatching, the man escorted authorities through a nearby housing project and to the thief’s front door.
“Police go to the housing projects, find the guy, take him into the station, get him to confess, return my flutes — everything else lost,” Sopp said. Security footage from the area showed the perp with the bag, police said. Suspect Gary Richards, 48, was arrested and charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Sopp, who appears often with the Philharmonic, has also performed with other musical notables including Bjork.