Here is a brief report on the trial, thanks to Peter Hellman and Maureen Downey.
The jury has been selected. The jury consists of 8 women and 4 men. Maureen reported that the jury is well educated as a group, but three of the women have only high school degrees. There are a number of wine drinkers on the jury panel.
The jury selection went faster than expected in the afternoon, so both the prosecution and the defense completed their opening statements. (I was hoping to hear those in the morning). Jerome Mooney portrayed Rudy as an “outsider,” who had been victimized and made a scapegoat by the millionaires and billionaires he had hung out and tried to fit in with. Mooney even claimed that Rudy started drinking wine in college, which is inconsitent with what he had previously related to the LA Times in late 2006.
Our very own reporter, Don Cornwell, will be writing about the trial again soon, here on the thread!
Which reminds me…would anyone be willing to be a reporter of sorts, interviewing Don about the trial, outside the thread here to post a story on the static pages (www.wineberserkers.com/content), so that the millions of others have a more approachable interface to read about it? (Many are overwhelmed by forums, so I created the landing/static pages to be more of an online magazine/news source type of delivery vehicle, aimed at the masses wanting to learn more about wine, rather than chat about it all day on the forum).
Any good writers want to prepare a feature, which can be ongoing?
Opening statements in the transcript were a great read. I can understand the desperation defense of “he just wanted to fit in” and “there are counterfeits everywhere, of course he sold some” – what I can’t fathom is how the defense is going to explain away all of the bottles and labels and corks and stamps and computer files and receipts for old, mediocre wine.
While he’s clearly guilty, his attorney does have a point. I think it’s a shame that Rudy will take all the heat while the fatcats and auctioneers that enabled him suffer no consequences. And by “enable him”, I mean in the very least they created an environment where questions of provenance were routinely scoffed at (and I’m choosing my words carefully here).
Mooney: “Yes, there are lots and lots of counterfeits. He bought counterfeits, he sold counterfeits. Everybody else bought counterfeits and sold counterfeits. But because he’s not one of the insiders, we’re here. And he’s the one that some of these people are going to want you to believe is responsible for all of the awful, horrible things that have happened with regards to the wine market.”
I’m actually curious about the auction industry (which i know very little about, but I’m finding this entire topic fascinating!) – how much responsibility do they take in authenticating what they auction? From this case alone, it seems like they take very little. But I would assume that their reputation is on the line, so there has to be some checks, right? Are there any kind of industry regulators out there? Or is it really up to the purchaser to be extra vigilant?
I had the same reaction…not sure how the one defense “I just wanted to be a part of a group” fits in with the evidence of a wine production lab in his home.
I’m also a little puzzled how the “just wanted to fit in” theory is supposed to help the defense. If he just wanted to belong, wouldn’t fabricating a whole bunch of incredibly rare wines that the in-crowd finds incredibly desirable be an incredibly easy way to do that? Maybe the thinking is that even though it’s totally consistent with guilt, it makes him look like an insecure high-school kid and the jury will show mercy instead of sending him to do hard time.
Gave the guy Richard’s info as I think it is his photo that is used the most (profile with a glass in his hand or on the table (but, in the shot)) I do hope Manfred K. is not bothered by my selling a shot that he is in…
Would hate to get booted from the list!
Alicia: from a non-expert (most of my knowledge comes from reading this thread, but that is a lot of reading): it’s complicated, but in a word it various enormously depending on the auction house. Some of them don’t seem to care at all, others are much more reliable. The people who buy these wines are often not very careful (they want a trophy, not a real wine experience), so the auction places can get away with a lot.
Mel-
Bill Plante had reached out to me for an interview for tomorrow, but the producer canceled the piece.
Too bad for all of you as I was mostly going to serve up Don in my place due to a conflict with another piece.
MD
If he needed the money to pay his taxes, why didn’t he either cut back on his lavish spending (they will be presenting, I’m sure, receipts of his dinners, etc., that he paid for) to raise money or ask his wealthy family for help.
How does the corking machine and printing of labels fit into with him “wanting to fit in.”
If he was so concerned with “fitting in,” and it was that extreme, why didn’t he choose a hobby where he could hang around peers his age instead of predominantly “rich, older people.” What made him want to fit into THAT crowd, anyway? Most guys his age would want to fit into the scene in LA with going to clubs, etc., not wine auctions. Just seems weird.
The immigration issue isn’t going to help him. In addition to making him less sympathetic, it also shows he has thumbed his nose at the law before.
It was also slightly amusing to read the defense attorney’s oblique reference to Christmas, saying in effect “We’re sorry you had to come here DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR (hint hint)”
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