WHAT A HEEL: Falser Than Vows Made In Wine
Mark Anderson, 61, whom the San Francisco Chronicle describes as “a Bay Area bon vivant, a connoisseur of art, food and wine who rented a Sausalito flat with a harbor view, published musings in a newspaper column, and stored fine cabernets and zinfandels for collectors,” pleaded guilty to arson and 18 other counts:
The genesis of the case was Anderson's decision in the late 1990s to launch Sausalito Cellars, which offered collectors the chance to store premium wine in "protected solitude."
But investigators said Anderson, raising funds for his sumptuous lifestyle, sold off many of his clients' bottles, clearing more than $800,000. The sales allegedly continued even after Marin County prosecutors charged Anderson in February 2005.
Anderson gave several explanations to clients and detectives: He had not received the wine in the first place, or it was stolen by an employee, or it was a casualty of bad record-keeping.
Anderson is believed to have torched the Vallejo warehouse - destroying 6 million bottles owned by 92 Napa Valley wineries and 43 collectors worth more than $200 million - to cover up his alleged embezzlement scheme.
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