Man accused of drinking more than $100,000 worth of historic whiskey

If someone asked you to keep a couple cases of whiskey safe for them, could you resist a sip? One man in Pittsburgh is accused of drinking 52 bottles of historic whiskey he was in charge of safekeeping, reported ABC news.

Patricia Hill, owner of the South Broadway Manor Bed and Breakfast, found 104 bottles of Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey under a flight of stairs, but it wasn’t just any old whiskey. The bottles were distilled in 1912 and were believed to be part of a historical whiskey collection consumed by Henry Frick and Andrew Carnegie, according to the inn chef Rick Bruckner.

Hill brought charges against John Saunders, the 62-year-old caretaker who was in charge of safeguarding the bottles of whiskey, after finding 52 of the bottles had been emptied in 2012.

A whiskey appraiser estimates the missing whiskey is valued at $102,400.

While the floors of the bed and breakfast were being renovated, Hill put the bottles in the basement, where Saunders lives, expecting him to watch them.

Saunders denied drinking the whiskey, but DNA testing confirmed Saunders’ DNA is on the empty bottles. Police charged him with felony theft and receiving stolen property.

According to Barry Pritts, chief of police in Scottsdale, Pa., Saunders is awaiting a liver transplant.

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