Violinist Joshua Bell's hotel room burglarised

It sounds like a scene right out of “Law & Order.” Joshua Bell, on tour as soloist with the London Philharmonic, claims that a thief posed as the classical musician in Zaragoza, Spain, and stole his $38,000 watch. A Bell lookalike on Thursday was able to impersonate the violinist and convince the front desk at a five-star hotel to give him a key to Bell’s room, a rep for Bell said in a release. Bell was performing at the time of the burglary with his priceless 1713 Stradivarius. Once inside the room, Bell says, the man called the front desk and asked for help opening the safe. The thief met security at the door wrapped in a towel as if he’d just gotten out of the shower; without checking ID, the staff opened the safe. “I was amazed at how easy it was for this to occur,” Bell said in a release. The thief also made off with Bell’s laptop, cash and other personal belongings. Known for his playing on the Oscar-winning soundtrack for “The Red Violin,” Bell has California concerts planned April 25-27 at the Northridge Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Let’s hope SoCal shows him better hospitality.