Cops: Mansion Caretaker Drank 52 Bottles of Rare Whiskey

Pittsburgh police charge him over century-old booze
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 23, 2013 10:15 AM CDT
Cops: Mansion Caretaker Drank 52 Bottles of Rare Whiskey
   (Shutterstock)

Fifty-two bottles of well-aged whiskey disappeared between his lips, police said, and now it's time for a western Pennsylvania man to settle up. John Saunders, the former live-in caretaker of a Pittsburgh-area mansion, faces criminal charges for allegedly drinking more than $100,000 worth of the owner's whiskey. Owner Patricia Hill had found nine cases of whiskey hidden in the walls and stairwell of the century-old Georgian mansion built by coal and coke industrialist JP Brennan after she bought it in 2012. The Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey was produced in the early 1900s by the nearby West Overton Distilling Co.

Scottdale police told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Saunders drank dozens of bottles whiskey valued at $102,400 by a New York auction house. Saunders, 62, of Irwin, was charged with receiving stolen property and theft. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. (More strange stuff stories.)

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