Universal K. Allah, 37, waits for the start of his sentencing hearing for his role in the robbery of a Stradivarius violin valued at $5 million. Credit: Mike De Sisti

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One of the two Milwaukee men involved in the January armed robbery that briefly netted them a $5 million Stradivarius violin was sentenced Thursday to 31/2 years in prison.

Universal K. Allah, 37, pleaded guilty in May to robbery as a party to a crime. In addition to his prison term, Allah will remain under extended supervision for another 31/2 years, must avoid contact with the people involved in the attack and pay $4,014.57 in lost wages and ambulance fees to Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Dennis P. Moroney called Allah's actions egregious and said someone at Allah's "stage of life should simply know better." Allah's attorney and even the prosecutor had recommended only a suspended prison term and probation for three years.

The crime's purported mastermind, Salah Salahadyn, 42, had been set to enter a guilty plea Thursday, but it was postponed. Allah, who had no prior criminal record, admitted providing Salahadyn, a felon, with the Taser used in the attack.

According to the criminal complaint, the 300-year-old Lipinski Stradivarius was stolen Jan. 27 from Almond after he was hit with a Taser as he left a performance at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Milwaukee police arrested the suspects on Feb. 3, and two days later investigators found the violin nestled in a suitcase that was in the attic of a Bay View home.

Almond read a statement in court and described the attack, which he called "nothing short of brutal."

"Of course I had no idea how much my life would change after playing the last note of that performance," Almond said. "After decades of playing high-end instruments, I considered myself fairly prudent in terms of personal safety and taking care of something so extraordinary as a Stradivarius violin. Even so I could've never imagined the unprovoked, violent attack resulting in the theft of something so fundamental to my life."

Almond said he experienced physical and emotional trauma that affected his wife and two young children, but said he found the fact that the attack included prior planning and stalking"most chilling."

The theft of the instrument, Almond said, made the violin "virtually worthless overnight," in that the thieves would have found it impossible to find a buyer.

"To this day I cannot possibly comprehend what would motivate anybody to commit such a pointless, unprovoked crime," Almond said, asking for a severe penalty for Allah's role in the crime.

Allah's attorney agreed that his client's involvement in the crime didn't make sense.

"It is a crime of the absurd," Paul Ksicinski said.

Ksicinski argued against jail time and characterized Allah as a naive person who was just doing a favor for a friend.

He noted Allah is a steadily employed barber and father to two young girls who didn't need to be incarcerated at taxpayer expense.

"He is extremely sorry for what he did, knows it was his fault for what happened and makes no excuses. I think that's what's important and extremely important for the court to understand in distinguishing the co-defendants in this case," Ksicinski said.

Assistant District Attorney David Robles contrasted the image of an "unsophisticated defendant" with someone who obtained a Taser knowing it would be used to steal a rare instrument.

"You would've hoped at that point in time all of the things that I guess made up Mr. Allah would've kicked in, in terms of upbringing, moral guidance and principles," Robles said. "That he would've contacted the police, and had them there, when it could be turned over, (or) alerted the police to the fact that Mr. Salahadyn was now given this and had some plan up his sleeve, but none of that happened."

Allah said he wanted to "humbly apologize" to the court, Milwaukee and others involved in the incident, and said it was difficult to explain his offense to his daughters and not being in their lives.

Moroney said Allah's lack of criminal history "doesn't give (him) a (free) ride," and his actions had not only been an attack on Almond, but on the community's dedication to and enjoyment of the arts.

"You are a party to a crime. By law, that means you buy onto the contents and the content of the other fellow's actions as he does to you," Moroney said.