Probably, it is one of the most mediatic robberies of recent times and in which wine has played a leading role. The trial for the wines of the Atrio restaurant, in Cáceres, celebrated its second day yesterday. The alleged couple of thieves did not acknowledge the events that occurred in October 2021 and decided to remain silent. There is no trace of the 45 bottles that were taken, nor of the 1806 Château d'Yquem, with a value of 350,000 euros, for which one of the owners, José Polo, was willing to negotiate.
A few minutes after half past nine yesterday morning, the second day of the trial against Sylvia Córdoba and Constantin Dumitru began at the Provincial Court of Cáceres, accused of stealing 45 bottles of wine valued at 1.6 million euros, according to the restaurant's menu. The woman refused to respond to any lawyer on her right not to testify. He followed her Dumitru example, although he did agree to answer her lawyer's questions, despite the fact that she did not ask any of hers. "I have nothing to declare, to the defense yes," Dumitru said briefly. They also did not admit their guilt in response to the judge's direct question.
The facts date back to October 2021. The alleged thieves stayed at the hotel and took advantage of the night hours to mislead the concierge and penetrate the cellar. Once the robbery was done, they left the room with a couple of bags full of bottles. They were arrested in Croatia, but there is no trace of the 45 wines that were taken. In addition, from the Château D'Yquem for 350,000 euros, they stole another six bottles of the same brand and 38 from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the most sought-after winery in Burgundy.
One of the owners of Atrio, José Polo, declared yesterday during his speech that the looting was an "order", and that the bottles are already in the hands of those who entrusted them with the theft, "dangerous" people who were supposedly outside from Spain. "It was a commission, I had the hope that it had not been and they would then negotiate with the bottles," Polo told the media after testifying at the oral hearing.
Despite the silence of the defendants, Polo opened the possibility of reaching an agreement. He was willing to negotiate for the most expensive bottle, at 350,000 euros, although he did not do so for the rest of the wines, for which they have already obtained compensation of 753,454.46 euros from the insurance.
After the first day on February 15, in which the previous questions were addressed, the oral hearing was resumed yesterday, beginning with the intervention of the alleged thieves, which lasted just over two minutes. At 10:30 a.m. the session resumed with the testimony of other witnesses. In total, 23 were summoned, including restaurant workers, police officers and the owners of Atrio, Polo and Toño Pérez, who could not attend the hearing because they were away at a gastronomic event.
The Prosecutor's Office requests for Dumitru and Córdoba four years and six months in jail and compensation for the injured parties of 1,648,500 euros, considering them co-authors of a crime of robbery with force in a public establishment, aggravated by the high amount of the stolen objects . The prosecution, represented by the insurer, raises the sentence to five years and one month in prison, but settles for compensation of 700,000 euros.
The theft, for the owners, goes beyond the economic value of the bottles and appeals to the "sentimental and historical value" of a wine like the 1805 Château d'Yquem. There is little hope of recovering it and, with the silence of the defendants and a proposal for an agreement on the table, it will be necessary to see how the trial evolves, which will be resumed tomorrow.
