Concertgoers catch officers stealing their $3,000 champagne, NY officials say
On duty police officers are accused of stealing two unopened, expensive champagne bottles from a group of concertgoers in a VIP area at an electronic music festival, officials said.
Soon after the festival attendees briefly left their table, one watched as NYPD detective Jonathan Gonzalez, 33, snatched the Ace of Spades bottles off their table on Sept. 3 at Electric Zoo Music Festival in New York City, according to court documents and statements.
Gonzalez is accused of bringing the bottles, worth $2,900 in total, to a table where fellow detectives Wojciech Czech, 44, and Warren Golden, 31, were standing and grabbed a backpack, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
The concertgoer witnessed Czech give the bottles back to Gonzalez, who is said to have stuffed them in his backpack as Golden stood by, according to the district attorney’s office.
Gonzalez, Czech and Golden, who were on narcotics enforcement duty at the festival, were indicted in connection with the incident, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced in a May 15 news release.
Gonzalez and Czech are charged with one count of fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to Bragg. Golden and Gonzalez are charged with one count of official misconduct.
“In addition to the alleged theft that occurred, none of these Officers stepped up and stopped this activity,” Bragg said in a statement.
Attorney Oliver S. Storch, who represents Czech, told McClatchy News in a statement on May 16 that his client has pleaded not guilty and is “shocked and saddened” by the accusations.
Attorney Jacob Weinstein, who represents Golden, said he expects his client to be “totally vindicated in the matter” and the charge against his client is “simply not supported by the facts” in a statement provided to McClatchy News on May 16. He pleaded not guilty.
Czech and Golden still work for the NYPD, according to Storch and Weinstein.
Peter Brill, who represents Gonzalez, told The New York Times that Gonzalez will “be cleared of the charges.” Gonzalez pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Monday, according to the outlet.
McClatchy News attempted to contact Brill for comment on May 16 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
The concertgoers confront the detectives, officials say
After officials say they stole the champagne, the detectives headed to a restricted area for employees and were stopped by a security officer, the release said.
Two concertgoers trailed behind them and confronted them, according to officials.
As a result, the champagne bottles were seized from Gonzalez’s backpack and handed back to the concertgoers, officials said. Then, the NYPD was alerted to the incident, the release said.
Czech and Golden are due back in court on June 20, court records show.
Storch said Czech, who’s a 10-year veteran law enforcement professional, is asking “the public to withhold judgment until these charges can be fully addressed in the appropriate forum.”
Weinstein said the district attorney’s office “should never have brought this allegation against Officer Golden.”
Electric Zoo is held each year on Randall’s Island. The 2022 show, which took place from Sept. 2 through 4, was headlined by Diplo, Porter Robinson, DJ Snake, Martin Garrix and more.
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