After more than four years of waiting and wondering, a Menomonee Falls family finally has its 1920s player piano back in the living room, and the West Allis shop that handled the restoration is now at the center of a criminal case. The Herbert player piano, a family heirloom, had been shipped to Neuhaus Piano Workshop for restoration and then sat in pieces while completion dates came and went. In late December, the instrument landed at cousin Chris Hoefler’s Menomonee Falls home with fresh strings, new keytops, and repaired hammers and air-pressure valves. Hoefler told Contact 6 the piano “is actually playing better than I remember growing up as a kid,” according to FOX6 Milwaukee.
Owner Don Lamb, who lives in Germany, says he paid Neuhaus about $5,000 in 2021 to move and restore the piano, with work originally slated to wrap in 2022. As reported by paid Neuhaus about $5,000 in 2021, Lamb found the instrument still in pieces inside the shop when he visited in August, only to see it finally returned at the end of the year in working condition, as reported by FOX6 Milwaukee.
Where The Work Was Done
Public records show Neuhaus’s operation listed as Arnold Neuhaus Player Pianos at 8111 W. Greenfield Ave. in West Allis. The Better Business Bureau gives the business an F rating and documents multiple unresolved customer complaints, some of which predate the recent criminal case. Those listings and consumer records help explain why frustrated customers took their concerns from the workshop floor to police and civil court.
Criminal Complaint Alleges A Pattern
According to charged around Thanksgiving 2025, Neuhaus faces one count of felony theft in Milwaukee County Circuit Court after Cassie Kaminski reported a missing piano she says was her only inheritance. The criminal complaint reportedly states that “no less than seven different victims have made complaints” accusing Neuhaus of taking in pianos and money, then cutting off communication.
FOX6 News also reports that an active arrest warrant remained in place for Neuhaus as of Feb. 6, 2026.
Legal Outlook
Under Wisconsin law, theft can be charged as a felony depending on the value of the property at issue. Penalties increase as the dollar amount goes up. Per Justia, theft of property worth more than $2,500 is a felony, with $2,500 to $5,000 classified as a Class I felony and higher value brackets carrying tougher Class H or Class G penalties.
In cases like this, prosecutors look at both value and intent. A dispute that starts as frustration over delays or communication can move into criminal territory if the state believes it can prove an intent to permanently deprive owners of their property.
Families Left To Pick Up The Pieces
For customers who trusted a decades-old shop with family treasures, the outcome so far is bittersweet. Hoefler now has a fully functioning player piano and a piece of his childhood back. Other families say their instruments remain unfinished or scattered in various states across the workshop.
Attorneys and customers have pointed to outstanding civil judgments and tax issues that complicate efforts to collect money or force a liquidation of assets. Some families say retrieving heirlooms has meant repeated trips to police stations and courthouses rather than simple pickups from the shop.
Contact 6 sought comment from Neuhaus. According to local reporting, the criminal charges and complaints described in this case are documented in police reports and court records that are part of the public file.
