PLCB seizes $150,000 in rare wines from Chesco attorney

(Philly) - More than 2,420 bottles of fine wines valued at $150,000 were seized last week from the home of a Chester County attorney who allegedly ran an underground mail order wine network, authorities said.

Arthur Goldman, 49, allegedly has sold rare wines - all unavailable from the state-owned liquor monopoly -from his home in Malvern without a liquor license, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and is also accused of procuring the wine from a source other than a Pennsylvania liquor store.

"This was not some casual exchange of wine between friends," Chester County District First Assistant Attorney Michael Noone said in a statement. "The defendant was running a highly organized, high-volume illegal business operation to make money."

When his home was raided, Goldman said he made a small profit on each purchase and acknowledged he had been doing so for over a decade, according to a statement he made to authorities during the raid.

It was unclear how many people had wine supplied to them by Goldman or whether Goldman had sold wine to anyone outside the PLCB.

In a sting operation that began in March 2013, an undercover agent with the PLCB contacted through email and asked for a list of wines that Goldman had for sale, according to court papers.