US lawyer arrested in undercover fine wine sting
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A lawyer in the US has been accused of running an illegal fine wine business after police claimed to have seized up to US $200,000-worth of wine from his home.
Arthur David Goldman, 49, was arrested by Pennsylvania state police following an undercover operation that led to a raid on his house in Malvern, Chester County.
Officers seized 2,426 bottles of ‘high-end wine’ estimated to be worth between $150,000 and $200,000, according to the district attourney’s office for Chester County.
Goldman is accused of selling fine wines without a licence. There is no suggestion that the wines are fake.
Only the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, a government-affiliated agency, has the power to import, store and sell alcohol in the state, a rule that dates back to the end of Prohibition in 1933.
‘This was not some casual exchange of wine between friends,’ said first assistant district attourney for Chester County, Michael Noone. ‘The defendant was running a highly organised, high-volume illegal business operation to make money.’
The district attourney’s office said undercover officers bought wine from Goldman multiple times. It added that Goldman has the right to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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Written by Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.