By Chris Dolmetsch and Dakin Campbell originally posted on January 17, 2018
Our secure and strict procedures only allow authorized contacts to handle personal collections which may have prevented this unfortunate display of American Greed – Mana Wine
A former personal assistant to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Co-President David Solomon faces federal charges that he stole more than $1.2 million of rare wine from his boss.
Nicolas De-Meyer was arrested Tuesday night in Los Angeles and named in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. De-Meyer worked for Solomon, whom the indictment described as an “individual who collects rare and expensive wine.”
The assistant apparently found the good stuff. The theft included seven bottles from the French estate Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, a Burgundy widely considered “among the best, most expensive and rarest wines in the world,” according to the indictment. In all, De-Meyer stole hundreds of bottles, prosecutors said.
Solomon, 55, considered a contender to succeed Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, is a double-black-diamond skier and wine collector who earned the title of Mr. Gourmet 2010 from the Society of Bacchus America. He had a 1,000-bottle wine storage area in his Manhattan residence, according to The Real Deal. The indictment doesn’t name Solomon, but Andrew Williams, a Goldman Sachs spokesman, confirmed he was the victim.
De-Meyer, 40, is accused of using an alias, “Mark Miller,” to sell bottles to a North Carolina-based wine dealer. De-Meyer’s regular duties included receiving wine shipped to Solomon’s Manhattan apartment and transporting it to his boss’s cellar in East Hampton, New York.
In federal court in Los Angeles, De-Meyer was ordered by a judge Wednesday to be held in custody and transported to New York by the U.S. Marshals Service to face a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property. De-Meyer is represented by a public defender, whose office didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
