NATION : Violinist Fodor Released From Jail

EDGARTOWN, Mass. —  Concert violinist Eugene Fodor was released from custody today after spending the weekend in jail on charges he broke into a motel room and was in possession of drugs and a dangerous weapon.

Fodor, 39, of New York City, had been held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail after a judge refused to accept his 300-year-old violin as surety. Superior Court Justice Joseph Mitchell today reduced bail to personal recognizance and set a pretrial conference Sept. 7.

Fodor, the first American to share honors in the prestigious Tchaikovsky violin competition in Moscow in 1974, was arrested Friday morning after a chambermaid in the Vineyard Harbor Motel found him in a room that was listed as unoccupied. Fodor allegedly was carrying 20 grams of cocaine, a small amount of heroin, a dagger, a hypodermic needle and some pills when he was arrested.