‘Ace of Spades’ champagne bottles
Three NYPD detectives were indicted after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in champagne from the VIP area of New York City's annual Electric Zoo Music Festival, the Manhattan district attorney announced.
The alleged theft took place at the 2022 concert on Randall's Island, DA Alvin Bragg said Monday. Jonathan Gonzalez, Wojciech Cech and Warren Golden were working narcotics enforcement on Sept. 3 and were in the VIP area around 7 p.m. as the concert was ongoing.
Concertgoers at a nearby table had ordered bottles of Ace of Spades champagne, and then stepped away, according to court documents and statements. That's when the 33-year-old Gonzalez took two of the unopened bottles — which cost a total of $2,900 — and put them on a table. Gonzalez went to get a backpack, and Czech, 44, allegedly handed them to him to put in the bag.
One of the concertgoers saw what happened and when he and the rest of the group returned to the area, the three cops left, court documents state.
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Golden, 31, was allegedly watching as the incident went down, but did nothing to stop it or return the bottles to the concertgoers.
The three detectives went into a restricted area for festival staff only, where they were stopped by festival security. Gonzalez identified himself as a police officer and insisted that the three were allowed to be there. As that was going on, two of the concertgoers from the VIP area finally caught up with the cops and confronted them in front of the security guard, according to court documents.
The bottles were taken from the bag and returned to the attendees. The security guard notified his employer, who then informed the NYPD of the incident.
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"In addition to the alleged theft that occurred, none of these Officers stepped up and stopped this activity. Public confidence in the criminal justice system depends on members of law enforcement acting with the utmost integrity while on duty and following the same rules that apply to everyone else," said Bragg.
Gonzalez and Czech were charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property, both felonies, while Gonzalez was charged with misdemeanor official misconduct. Golden faces the misdemeanor official misconduct charge as well.
Attorney information for the three detectives was not immediately clear.
