Current:Home > ScamsCouple sentenced in Spain after 1.6 million euro wine heist at Michelin-starred restaurant-LoTradeCoin
Couple sentenced in Spain after 1.6 million euro wine heist at Michelin-starred restaurant
View Date:2024-12-23 19:19:01
A Spanish court on Monday sentenced a couple for stealing 45 bottles of wine worth over 1.6 million euros from a hotel restaurant, in what police called a "meticulously planned" theft.
A bottle of Chateau D'Yquem 1806 worth 350,000 euros was among the wines stolen from the Atrio hotel in Cáceres, in southwest Spain, in October 2021.
A court in Cáceres sentenced the woman to four years in jail and the man to four and a half years after finding them guilty of burglary with forced entry.
The court also ordered the pair —who were arrested in July 2022 in Croatia— to pay compensation of 753,454 euros to the hotel.
The woman, who according to Spanish press reports is a former Mexican beauty queen, checked into the hotel using a fake Swiss passport, the court said.
After dining in the Michelin three-star restaurant of the hotel, the pair were given a tour of the Atrio's renowned wine cellar before they retired to their room.
At 2 a.m., the woman called the reception and asked the sole employee who was working at the time to make her a salad, according to the court ruling.
The employee at first denied the request because he was alone and because the couple had eaten a 14-course tasting menu, but he ended up agreeing because she kept insisting.
While the employee was preparing the salad, the man slipped into reception and stole an electronic key that he thought would give him entry to the wine cellar, but it was the wrong key.
From outside the wine cellar the man called his partner and told her once again to distract the receptionist, so she requested a dessert.
"The accused returned to the reception and from a box he took master key number 27, which he used to open the wine cellar, from where he took 45 bottles of wine," the court said.
The man, who reportedly has Romanian and Dutch citizenship, carried the bottles to his room in a rucksack and two large bags before the receptionist returned to his post.
The couple had "meticulously planned" the heist, visiting the restaurant three times to prepare the raid, Spain's National Police said in a statement when the couple was arrested.
veryGood! (66525)
Related
- A Pipeline Runs Through It
- Stock market today: Asian benchmarks are mixed as Tokyo sips on strong yen
- Massachusetts lawmakers push for drug injection sites as session wraps up
- Utah congressional candidate contests election results in state Supreme Court as recount begins
- Kid Rock tells fellow Trump supporters 'most of our left-leaning friends are good people'
- Medal predictions for track and field events at the 2024 Paris Olympics
- Chicago woman of viral 'green dress girl' fame sparks discourse over proper club attire
- Ex-leaders of Penn State frat where pledge died after night of drinking plead guilty to misdemeanors
- Hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field can be fixed for about $55M in time for 2026 season, per report
- The Best Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2024 Skincare Deals: Save Up to 56% on Kiehl's, OSEA, La Mer & More
Ranking
- Wisconsin’s high court to hear oral arguments on whether an 1849 abortion ban remains valid
- Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
- Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
- Images from NASA's DART spacecraft reveal insights into near-Earth asteroid
- Hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field can be fixed for about $55M in time for 2026 season, per report
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, I Will Turn This Car Around!
- Is Simone Biles competing today? When star gymnast competes in women's all-around final.
- While Steph Curry looks for his shot, US glides past South Sudan in Olympics
Recommendation
-
Groups seek a new hearing on a Mississippi mail-in ballot lawsuit
-
Olympic officials address gender eligibility as boxers prepare to fight
-
Nursing home inspections across New Mexico find at least one violation in 88% of facilities
-
Fed leaves key interest rate unchanged, signals possible rate cut in September
-
Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
-
2024 Olympics: Simone Biles Has the Perfect Response to Criticism Over Her Hair
-
In an attempt to reverse the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, Schumer introduces the No Kings Act
-
MLB trade deadline winners and losers: What were White Sox doing?