California man convicted in wine theft from famed restaurant

SAN FRANCISCO – A California man has pleaded guilty to a charge stemming in part from the theft of more than 100 wine bottles worth more than $500,000 from a famed Napa Valley restaurant.

Federal prosecutors say a judge Tuesday accepted Davis Kiryakoz’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors say the 44-year-old Kiryakoz acknowledged conspiring to steal wine bottles from the world-renowned French Laundry restaurant in December 2014.

Kiryakoz and a co-conspirator arranged to ship the wine to a buyer in North Carolina, where some of it was later discovered.

Prosecutors say Kiryakoz also conspired to steal wine from a steakhouse and a wine dealer. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

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