By Murl Allen Sanders
Frank Sugia was the first professional accordionist I ever heard. My folks took me to hear Frank play with his small group at the Casa Villa restaurant on Eastlake in Seattle when I was about 12 years old. His group was playing onstage in the bar just a few steps away from our table in the dining room. I loved hearing him play great accordion and singing and watching his group play. He had a female vocalist in his group who stood up to sing while playing a “cocktail” drum set, a small standup kit. Their repertoire was most impressive, a mix of jazz, pop tunes, Italian and other styles appropriate to the 1960’s era, just pre-Beatles.
Frank had a great local career playing in bars, restaurants and all types of “casual” gigs. He also played in Las Vegas extensively. He was a fabulous accordionist and singer and just oozed good taste in his singing and playing. Many of you may have heard Frank play at the Frederick and Nelson department store in downtown Seattle at Christmas time playing with renowned violinist Joe Venuti. He played that gig for many years.
Although I met Frank at that Casa Villa gig so long ago, I never really knew Frank and as a kid didn’t have access to his gigs in bars, his mainstay employment. In a complete stroke of luck and coincidence, I met his daughter Sue (Sugia) Anderson in the late 1980’s. Sue and I were playing together in a children’s entertainment band, Jim Valley and the Rainbow Planet Review. Although the band only lasted a few short years, Sue and I remained close friends. She shared recordings of her Dad with me and I got to learn just what a great musician he was.
When Frank died a couple of decades ago, Sue asked me if I would be interested in buying his accordion, a beautiful 1960’s Petosa AM 1200. I jumped at the chance! I played it for many gigs through the years and it was my “backup” accordion which I used in teaching. I loved that instrument. I had it until October 9, 2024, the date it was stolen in a burglary at my partner’s home.
It was a heart-breaking loss, both to me and to Sue. If you are like me, you might have strong sentimental attachments to one or more of your accordions.
Burglaries or break-ins are always traumatic and this incident was no exception. The feeling of violation and vulnerability can be quite overwhelming. My partner’s house had an upstairs back door jam broken by a crowbar, most of her jewelry stolen and three of her guitars taken. The burglars started with the jewelry and then headed downstairs to make their escape where they discovered the musical instruments - a burglar bonus!
Frank’s accordion showed up the next morning at a pawn shop in South Everett. Thieves want to get their money before a police report can be filed. Two men walked into the pawn shop, one with Frank’s accordion and the other with a guitar. The pawn shop owner refused to purchase the accordion because the thief wanted $2,000 for it. The owner offered him $250, which he refused and left with the accordion. However, the pawn shop owner had already photographed his ID and discovered that the thief was on a “do not buy from” list.
Since accordions, particularly high quality accordions, rarely show up at pawn shops, the owner was suspicious and had the presence of mind to call Petosa Accordions to ask if there had been a theft. Joe Petosa picked up the phone and assured him they hadn’t had a theft recently. This was even before I had the chance to call Petosa and tell them Frank’s accordion had been stolen!
The other thief with the guitar managed to sell it to the pawn shop, but not before his ID had been photographed. My partner and I paid a visit to the pawn shop and she was able to buy back her guitar at a greatly reduced price.
From the extremely helpful and astute pawn shop owner we learned that it is possible to retrieve a stolen instrument for free, but the police report and follow-up can take weeks or even months. We also learned that the Seattle Police Department has only seven detectives investigating crimes. Their work load is too great to attend to “small” burglaries. The police are not interested in following up or visiting the crime scene unless a gun has been used in the crime, or a gun has been stolen in the crime.
Frank’s accordion is now “in the wind”, or in the thief’s closet or storage unit. The likely next stop for it is an online market like eBay, Craig’s List, Offer Up or Facebook Marketplace. Should you see a Petosa AM1200 for sale on any of these sites, please let me know. It will be readily identifiable because it has a MurlStrap sewn on permanently to the left strap and it is in a custom made backpack.
The irony of all this is that we know the likely thieves’ identities, addresses and their criminal records. Both thieves are in their forties and have extensive criminal records going back to their teenage years. The thief with Frank’s accordion has an assault conviction on his record. That makes one a little apprehensive about ever seeing him again.
Frank’s accordion was insured and I have the serial number, so I may receive some compensation for it. But I want it back! Luck and friendship brought it to me, perhaps luck and friendship will bring it back to me. If it ever makes its way back to Petosa, I will certainly get it back. Would the thief be stupid enough to take it there? I have some hope, but I am working on how to live with the loss. The irony for the thief is that it will be difficult to sell an expensive accordion, a truly niche market item. My additional hope is that it is at least treated with respect as a valuable item (even thieves want to maximize their profit).
What a pity that a wonderful instrument has fallen into unworthy hands. Hard to suppress my anger about it.
May you never experience a theft.
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