Pianos found in storage lockers, customers seek missing instruments

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Eight customers of a piano repair shop called West Allis police after more than two dozen pianos were discovered in storage units in February. None of their missing pianos were inside the lockers.

A police report obtained by Contact 6 says police learned of the units from a woman who'd acquired them one year prior from Storage Rentals of America on Lapham Street. She said the previous owner had defaulted on his payments. The woman also found paperwork inside the lockers connecting the instruments to Neuhaus Piano Workshop – and she'd seen Contact 6's reporting on the shop's unhappy customers.

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What They're Saying

What they're saying:

One of the workshop's customers, who called police after learning of the storage units, was Len Wesner in Oshkosh. In Wesner’s living room is a 1920s player piano that’s cherished by his family. Wesner bought the piano 20 years ago from Arnold Neuhaus. Neuhaus ran a respected piano business in West Allis for decades until his death in 2016.

"He was great. He knew all about these (player pianos)," Wesner said.

In 2019, Wesner turned to Neuhaus Piano for a second time. That time, he entrusted Arnold Neuhaus' son, Tom Neuhaus, with a different player piano that belonged to his parents. Neuhaus was contracted to refinish and restring the piano. 

Wesner hasn't seen his piano since. His family paid a $1,000 down payment for the repairs. Five years ago, he says the workshop stopped responding to all communication.

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"It was in our family for a very long time," Wesner said. "I don’t know if Tom can do it anymore or what."

A couple of months ago, Wesner called West Allis police after he saw Contact 6's report.

Charged with felony theft

The backstory:

Contact 6 has reported on the workshop’s unhappy customers since 2017. Last year, Neuhaus was charged with felony theft. Cassie Kaminski is the victim in that case. She sent her grandparents’ piano to Neuhaus in 2023 for repairs and refinishing. She paid $5,500 for repairs and did not get her piano back.

"I’ll admit I’m trying to be understanding of the process," Kaminski said. "I’m frustrated and angry. I lost a huge piece of my childhood."

In February, a West Allis police detective interviewed Neuhaus following his arrest on a bench warrant. Contact 6 obtained video from the interview.

Detective: "Do you know roughly how many pianos you’ve got in your store?"
Neuhaus: "Way too many."

The detective asked Neuhaus about Kaminski's piano.

Neuhaus: "Somehow I lost the cast iron frame."
Detective: "OK."
Neuhaus: "I don’t know what happened to it, and those are not interchangeable."

Neuhaus said the missing frame for Kaminski’s piano weighs 400 pounds. He stated he'd considered whether the frame was stolen.

Detective: "How would it have been stolen?"
Neuhaus: "Well, that’s just it. Where would it go? The building is only so big."

"After hearing that he may have lost that piece, I’ve kind of lost all hope," Kaminski said.

Around the same time as their interview with Neuhaus, police learned of the pianos inside three storage units.

"I’m hoping because there’s always hope," Wesner said, upon hearing the news.

Pianos in storage lockers

Dig deeper:

Of the 28 pianos in the storage lockers, police connected three pianos with their owners and returned two. One customer declined to take his piano back. Wesner’s piano was not among those in the storage lockers.

"To this day I think it’s in (Neuhaus') building," Wesner said.

West Allis police said they considered a search warrant at Neuhaus' shop, but after consultation with the district attorney’s office, many of the complaints did not rise to the level of chargeable criminal offenses.

The woman who acquired the storage units says a facility manager told her the units "originally belonged to Thomas Neuhaus." 

One person called police to say she'd "given Thomas Neuhaus two or three upright pianos" around 2021 or 2022, and "wanted to let (them) know that some of them may not be stolen."

West Allis Police told Contact 6 they did not have a legal basis to seize the rest of the pianos, so the lockers' contents were returned to the storage facility.

Poor communication

Why you should care:

In his interview with West Allis police, a detective lectured Neuhaus about his poor communication with customers.

"Communication is a big thing when these people are going months to years without hearing back from you, right?" the detective told Neuhaus. "They can’t get ahold of you. That’s why people are going to the news. That’s why they’re coming to the police."

Neuhaus told police his building is cluttered, he lost employees during the pandemic, and business slowed.

"I’m not making excuses, but I do get so damn depressed I can’t get out of bed sometimes," Neuhaus said.

No new charges

What's next:

Wesner’s parents’ piano was supposed to go to his daughter’s home, so another generation could cherish the music and memories.

"My letters (to Neuhaus) all said, 'it’s just fine. Let me just get the piano back, and I’ll move it myself,'" Wesner said. "It’s really the emotional side of it that we’re struggling with more than anything else. We’d like to have it back." 

West Allis police said no new charges against Neuhaus are being considered, and none of the remaining pianos in the storage lockers were connected to a crime. The district attorney’s office told Contact 6 in court that Neuhaus is working to return pianos to customers before his next court appearance in November.

Neuhaus did not respond to Contact 6's voicemail. His attorney declined to comment.

Submit to Contact 6

What you can do:

Consumers who have a complaint and want Contact 6 to get involved can submit an online inquiry through FOX6's website.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jenna Sachs and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

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