Goldman Sachs Co-President has $1.2mm in wine stolen...

[Anton_D]

@Russ Williams

@Peter Hirsch

I also get David’s view (and others with a similar view). He’s angry and looking for someone to blame for the Great Recession. So where to point that finger??. Is he going to blame Clinton and Cuomo for pushing the Community Reinvestment Act? Nah, that’s somewhat nuanced. Or Barney Frank and Maxine Waters and others for eviscerating the Freddie and Fannie regulators in open hearings, circa 2004? Nah, not so much fun and again nuanced. Or how about the actual borrower, who decided that markets could only go up (This is America, you make your own decisions!!) and decided that some free money would be great!! Nah. No one wants to blame themselves!! That’s a Cognitive Bias!!! He wants the easy one. The Evil Bankers, who of course also shoulder some of the blame. Better story line than the other ones, easy villain to see. I get it.

Nice summation Peter.

Keeping it wine related.

That analysis is about as nuanced as Caymus 40th cabernet-like beverage.

Take it to the the cesspool, you two. Russ knows the way.

I am relieved that Goldman somehow managed to escape the hoards of evil home buyers across the nation. Shorting the very products they sold was so patriotic.

[M_A_T_T_H_A_R_T_L_E_Y]

Dying to know who the wine merchant in NC that bought all this stuff was…

[ykwon]

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

Dying to know who the wine merchant in NC that bought all this stuff was…

Is there any recourse assuming they still have the wines?

[CFu]

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

Dying to know who the wine merchant in NC that bought all this stuff was…

I made a guess above.

[Arv_R]

So assuming the merchant has to return the wine to the original (lawful) owner, does that happen through the law enforcement process? Does NYPD tell the merchant ‘return it or we file receipt of stolen property charges’ or does Solomon have to sue the merchant independently? This is like the Premier Cru fraudulent conveyance problem…although the merchant probably should have taken some diligences to make sure it wasn’t dealing in stolen property. This may end up being an expensive lesson for them, even if they already flipped the bottles for a quick score.

[John_Morris]

@Arv R

So assuming the merchant has to return the wine to the original (lawful) owner, does that happen through the law enforcement process? Does NYPD tell the merchant ‘return it or we file receipt of stolen property charges’ or does Solomon have to sue the merchant independently? This is like the Premier Cru fraudulent conveyance problem…although the merchant probably should have taken some diligences to make sure it wasn’t dealing in stolen property. This may end up being an expensive lesson for them, even if they already flipped the bottles for a quick score.

Yes, Solomon could bring a civil suit.

My guess is that the cops and prosecutors won’t chase this down, since the merchant probably has some defense. Moreover, the theft was in NY, so there would be jurisdictional issues.

Given the regulation of liquor retailing, perhaps Solomon could exert some pressure on the store via the State of North Carolina.

[James_Billy]

Is it a long enough time to forget about the crash less than a decade ago?

[Markus_S]

@John Morris

@James Billy

Nothing do with wine. Just another ‘investment grade’ asset to make a rich man richer.

You obviously haven’t read anything about the guy. He’s seriously interested in food and wine.

I don’t see how an interest in food and wine makes a person a good & decent soul, but God can be the judge of that. The disappointing and degrading thing here is the loss of personal trust, which is never a good thing.

[Markus_S]

@c fu

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

Dying to know who the wine merchant in NC that bought all this stuff was…

I made a guess above.

Never heard of him.

[Neal.Mollen]

@Markus S

@John Morris

@James Billy

Nothing do with wine. Just another ‘investment grade’ asset to make a rich man richer.

You obviously haven’t read anything about the guy. He’s seriously interested in food and wine.

I don’t see how an interest in food and wine makes a person a good & decent soul, but God can be the judge of that. The disappointing and degrading thing here is the loss of personal trust, which is never a good thing.

I think John’s comment was simply a response to James’ claim that the wine was merely an investment vehicle.

[Steve_Anderson]

I remembered reading this thread earlier in the year, and saw this item pop in tonight…

Assistant Who Stole $1M in Wine From Goldman Sachs Exec Jumps to Death
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/assistant-who-stole-dollar1m-in-wine-from-goldman-sachs-exec-jumps-to-death/ar-BBOaMvM?ocid=ientp

[David_Cooper]

Very interesting Steve. Thanks for posting this.

It’s good to know the lengths that law enforcement will go to solve this sort of crime.

[C_Mc_Cart]

Pretty sad though. Not defending his crimes, but sounds like he really made of mess of his life due to panic and fear, despite what sounds like wanting to do the right thing at many points.

[james_l_moleberg]

Amazing- this guy killed himself, but Ryan Chaland, the person he sold the wine to, as well as the fence behind the French Laundry heist, and countless other thefts, is still out there looking for his next mark.

[Kirk.Grant]

This an interesting social commentary. If the assistant felt safe, valued, and respected I can’t help but wonder if they still would have resorted to this behavior. I feel bad for the individual that was the victim of theft, but can’t help but wonder what kind of a leader they were.

[julianseersmartin]

This an interesting social commentary. If the assistant felt safe, valued, and respected I can’t help but wonder if they still would have resorted to this behavior. I feel bad for the individual that was the victim of theft, but can’t help but wonder what kind of a leader they were.

Greed destroys even the most loving relationships.

[Dav3_Dyr0ff]

A local columnist has written a few times about a now-released ex-white-collar-con who works to prevent suicides like this. Essentially, he runs a “jail sucks, but minimum security really isn’t THAT bad” counseling service (pro bono, I believe) to try and prepare these guys for what it’s going to be like. Partly to equip them to deal with what they will face (much of which is boredom), but mostly to get them over that giant fear of the completely unknown where their imaginations can get so extreme that they resort to such measures.

[David_Cooper]

Better not watch The Night Of. Cured me of ever going astray.

[edwardmilstein]

Dan - I drank it with friends for a birthday 2 weeks ago.Beautiful bottle of wine. In a perfect place today.

[Arv_R]

This an interesting social commentary. If the assistant felt safe, valued, and respected I can’t help but wonder if they still would have resorted to this behavior. I feel bad for the individual that was the victim of theft, but can’t help but wonder what kind of a leader they were.

Ahhh the old ‘Blame the Victim’ chestnut !