Wine Theft

The thief hid overnight within the Parisian art gallery before emerging to carry the well-known muse off the wall, strip the painting of its frame and shove it up his smock. Peruggia’s crime has been described as the greatest art theft of the 20th Century, however he and the portray were found in Italy two years later. At the time, David Solomon led Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division and he thrived in part by taking part in a bit towards type. He wore sweatpants to the pitch for the Lululemon Athletica preliminary public offering and was a DJ at bottle-service nightclubs. Plans to start out a jewellery enterprise and an interior design agency by no means totally took off.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, recognized to wine aficionados as “DRC,” is universally considered the preeminent French purple Burgundy producer. The property’s high wine comes from the Romanée Conti vineyard, after which the Domaine is called. The solely two magnums of 2012 Romanée-Conti sold at auction within the last five years went for a whopping $31,980 and $38,242 every. DeMeyer reached out to Chaland, whose firm was at the high of the Google search, utilizing the alias “Mark Miller,” the name of a deceased vintner who put Hudson Valley wines on the map. “For a real wine collector, you tag every little thing, barcode all of it, for insurance coverage reasons.

• Works by famend Norwegian artist Edvard Munch have been stolen three times in separate heists.
• DeMeyer allegedly made use of his entry to the wine cellar to steal the wine and sell it on to North Carolina wine dealer, Ryan Chaland, who ran an organization known as Wine Liquidators on the time.
• Peruggia’s crime has been described as the greatest art theft of the 20th Century, but he and the painting have been discovered in Italy two years later.
• He spent two of these eight years stealing and promoting their wine, in accordance with an earlier interview with Chaland—who denied knowledge of the bottles’ provenance.
• Plans to start out a jewellery enterprise and an interior design firm by no means absolutely took off.

So in 2008, Mr. DeMeyer received with the occasions and pledged fealty to one of the metropolis’s monetary barons. Mr. Windsor remembers hearing about an internship at The New Republic, some time spent working at an art gallery. The two frolicked collectively at homosexual bars just like the Cock, Boiler Room and Phoenix. “I assume he was at all times kind of supported by his household,” Mr. Windsor mentioned. But Goldman Sachs is a flash point within the rise of economic inequality — and Mr. DeMeyer lifted more than 500 bottles of Mr. Solomon’s wine with out anybody noticing. So maybe there was a certain inevitability to the recasting of Mr. DeMeyer as Butch Cassidy in Hermès sneakers.

Wine Theft: Man Accused Of Stealing Rare Bottles Falls To Dying

But Goldman Sachs had turn out to be a flashpoint within the rise of financial inequality – and DeMeyer lifted more than 500 bottles of Solomon’s wine with out anybody noticing. So perhaps there was a certain inevitability to the recasting of DeMeyer as an Hermès-clad Butch Cassidy. But in January, after 14 months of travelling the world, he was arrested by federal brokers at Los Angeles International airport earlier than he may even collect his baggage. Looting $1.2m (£950,000) of wine from the cellar of Solomon’s house in East Hampton, New York. “He was near our family for a number of years, and we are all heartbroken to listen to of his tragic finish,” Solomon told the New York Post.

When the DRCs came back on the market, one other connoisseur traced them to Solomon and tipped him off. At a gathering with Solomon and his spouse Mary on the Greenwich Hotel, De Meyer confessed. But somewhat than face possible prison time, he gathered up his sick-gotten positive aspects and embarked on a yr’s journey to Italy, Morocco, South America, and Switzerland.

Nicolas Demeyer: The Murky Story Of A Man Who Looted $1 2m Of Wine From A Banker’s Cellar

Following Mr. Ertug’s dying, Mr. DeMeyer joined Mr. Blount, Mr. Windsor and a couple other Vassar graduates in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, where they drank wine, looked up at Mr. Ertug’s house and told stories about their pal. Plans to start a jewelry business and an inside design agency never absolutely took off. Practically probably the most distinguished guest Mr. DeMeyer poured drinks for was Amanda Lepore, the transgender evening life diva — and she arrived with Mr. Windsor, who was then a celebration promoter.

David Solomon stated the news of his former assistant’s dying “saddened” him. DeMeyer used the alias “Mark Miller” to sell wine he stole to a North Carolina-based wine dealer he positioned on the web, the indictment mentioned. Mr. Solomon said in a press release that he and his spouse were deeply saddened to listen to that Mr. De-Meyer had killed himself. “He was close to our household for a number of years, and we’re all heartbroken to hear of his tragic finish,” Mr. Solomon said.

Goldman Sachs Execs Worker Charged In $1m Wine Theft

Investigators said he stole lots of of bottles of classic wine from the funding banker and offered them to a North Carolina vendor, utilizing the name Mark Miller as an alias. Police stated he had used the money from the sale of the stolen wines to fund a 14-month globe-trotting journey. “It’s a job that burns you out pretty fast,” she said, adding that two or three years is the everyday length of time an assistant stays with one family, and five years the longest any assistant with an ego of his own might reasonably abide.