Business Owner Pleads Guilty In Vallejo Arson Of Wines Central Warehouse

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- United States Attorney Benjamin B.
Wagner, ATF Special Agent in Charge Stephen Herkins, and IRS Special Agent in
Charge Scott O'Briant announced that late this afternoon MARK C. ANDERSON, 61,
of Sausalito, pleaded guilty to all 19 charges in an indictment that included
one count of arson, four counts of interstate transportation of fraudulently
obtained property, nine counts of mail fraud, one count of use of a fictitious
name, and four counts of tax evasion stemming from the October 12, 2005 arson
of the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo. This case is the product of an
extensive investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, the Vallejo Police Department, the
Vallejo Fire Department, and the Sausalito Police Department. According to
Assistant United States Attorney R. Steven Lapham, who is prosecuting the
case, the trial was set to commence tomorrow with Deputy Attorney General
Peter Williams assisting. Today, ANDERSON admitted that he set fire to the
Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo, on October 12, 2005, and that he had been
embezzling wine from his clients for many years. In pleading guilty to the tax
evasion counts ANDERSON also admitted that he failed to report over $800,000
in income from the sale of the embezzled wine and therefore evaded over
$290,000 in taxes. ANDERSON operated a business called Sausalito Cellars in
which he charged wine collectors a fee for storing their wine in
environmentally controlled conditions. As part of his business, he rented
approximately 2,500 square feet of space at Wines Central, a 240,000 square
foot warehouse located in Vallejo, California. Most of Wines Central was
dedicated to the storage of premium wine for Napa Valley wineries.
Approximately 95 Napa Valley wineries stored wine at Wines Central. Some of
these wineries lost entire vintages and, in some cases, their entire
inventory. Over six million bottles of wine were destroyed in the fire. After
accepting the guilty plea, Judge Karlton scheduled the matter for Judgment and
Sentencing on January 26, 2010. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the
United States has agreed to recommend a sentence of 188 months.

www.usdoj.gov/usao

caeusacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov

Docket #: 07-cr-96-LKK

CONTACT: LAUREN HORWOOD PHONE: (916) 554-2706

SOURCE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Lauren Horwood, +1-916-554-2706, for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives