According to information obtained by The Post, Olivier Fluchaire, a former music teacher at the Manhattanville College and renowned violinist, is being accused of stealing a cello bow from world renown.
O instrument, known as the ‘FX Tourte bow’, is estimated to be worth more than half a million dollars and belonged to the widow of a famous French bow maker.
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According to prosecutors, Fluchaire, 48, refused to return the item to the owner, Severine Lauxerrois, even after she provided him with several of her late husband's bows, for which he allegedly failed to send payments promised.
Professor is being accused of stealing valuable bow
(Image: Steven Hirsch/Reproduction)
The criminal complaint against Olivier Fluchaire revealed that, after his death in 1994, Pascal Lauxerrois, the famous bow maker, left his extensive collection of violin and cello parts to his wife.
According to court documents, Fluchaire, a former teacher of
music, he established a “friendly” relationship with Lauxerrois over the decades and chose bows from the collection to sell on consignment to his violin students.After reaching an agreement, Fluchaire traveled to France to fetch the bow, providing Lauxerrois with a €15,000 advance in August 2015, according to prosecutors.
However, despite the former professor's various promises to pay off his debts, he only accomplished three smaller payments, leaving an outstanding balance of €70,000, the prosecutor's office stressed.
In 2019, after growing tired of Fluchaire's actions, Lauxerrois requested that he return the cello bow, along with nine others for which he allegedly failed to pay. However, he has "repeatedly evaded" the application over the past four years, according to the complaint filed.
Despite this, Fluchaire reportedly scored several times between July 2019 and September 2021 to return the cello bow to Lauxerrois, even though he no longer owned it.
On May 22, the former teacher was arrested and faces accusationstheft, criminal possession of stolen property, as well as other lawsuits related to the alleged theft of the FX Tourte bow and nine other items like it, the total value of which exceeds US$ 3 million.
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