Amazing photos from warehouse fire in Vallejo
Pictures are worth thousands of words. Tom Wark at Fermentation (new blog name) happened into some very revealing photos from Bradley Gray, columnist for the Sonoma Sun’s wine section. Bradley’s write up on this tragedy can be found here. FTA:
I visited the fire scene last week, and found nearly a dozen panic-stricken vintners standing in the parking lot awaiting word on the fate of their wines. Additionally, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), attorneys, insurance adjusters and independent fire investigators were on the scene.
The story also breaks the name of a suspect:
On the day of the fire, it was reported that those at the warehouse included Mark Anderson, one of Wines Central’s customers, and two forklift operators. Anderson, the City Parks and Recreation commissioner for Marin, also owns Sausalito Cellars, a company that stores rare wines for collectors.
Anderson is also currently being charged with 10 counts of embezzlement for the alleged theft of wine.
…What I understand from Wines Central general manager Debbie Polverino is that Wines Central gave Anderson the boot and told him to clear out his clients’ wine. She allowed Anderson access to his wine the day of the fire.
and the plot thickens…..
November 1st, 2005 at 2:08 pm
As a wine lover it is truly tragic. The history of some wines gone forever, lives and businesses ruined. What is the punishment to fit the crime?
November 1st, 2005 at 4:30 pm
How about prison for a long long time, And maybe label duty by hand for the wineries next offerings for 10 years.
You said it right Jens, this was truly tragic.
April 4th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Hasn’t anyone ever looked into the other people at Wines Central. Their manager there was involved in over 5,000-6,000 cases of “missing” Pride Mountain wines about ten years ago. It was a pretty ‘leaky’ warehouse and all the owners were fighting over control. More than half the warehouse was full of sugar. They were trying to bust a union in the midwest. It wasn’t a wine warehouse, it was a front for all kinds of other business scams. Anderson had moved out long before all this had gone down. Pacific American Consolidators just had the Marin County Courts kick them out because the current owner was being sued for fruad by his former partners for over 3 million dollars. The building was red tagged anyway, what’s the big surprise?
April 4th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Jack Krystal didn’t own WinesCentral, he was bankrupt and needed the insurance to get out of town. He knew nothing about wine or wineries and hired out Pacific american and Linda Hothem to bail him out. She took off after the courts ordered her out because Krystal did not disclose how much he owed his former partners in a fraud case where he was a defendant. All this has been covered up by the media and PR specialists at great expense to Krystal and Hothem. Ever see their names anywhere? No way! He keeps saying he’s going to re-open the place, but why should he, he doesn’t need to and has no interest in the wine business. He’s just trying to keep the story alive so he can scam the insurance companies and leave the place to rot.
April 5th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Hi carlmwood,
Here’s the latest info on this case.
-Jathan
July 1st, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Questions to Calmwood
Is there evidence the warehouse was red tagged prior to the fire?
What information do you have about the “union busting”?
What were the other “business scams” you refer to?
Have any of the small wineries or the insurance carriers started any litigation against the owners of Wines Central?