Crime & Safety
Chesco Lawyer Charged With Illegal Wine-Selling Operation
Over 2,000 bottles of wine, valued over $150,000 were taken from his home during raid.
State Police seized over 2,000 bottles of wine, valued at somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000, from the home of a Malvern man who was allegedly running his an illegal wine-selling business from his home, according to a release from the Chester County District Attorney’s office.
Police say that the man, Arthur David Goldman, a 49-year-old attorney who lives in Malvern, maintained a detailed list, over 97-pages long, of wines unavailable in Pennsylvania that he would allegedly sell from his own private seller or order to be sold, all without a liquor license.
“This was not some casual exchange of wine between friends,” First Assistant District Attorney Michael Noone said in a statement. “The defendant was running a highly organized, high-volume illegal business operation to make money.”
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Undercover officers reportedly made several purchases from the man before exercising a search warrant on January 6 and taking 2,426 bottles of wine from Goldman’s home.
Goldman will face various misdemeanor chargers and, if found guilty, could face fines as high as $200,000.
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“This was a brazen violation of the law by someone who clearly knew better,” Noone said. “He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he continued to systematically break the law. “
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