The Prosecutor's Office asks for two years and three months in prison for
Guillermo Cruz, chosen Best Sommelier in Spain in 2014
, for allegedly appropriating "several bottles" of wine from the Mugaritz restaurant in Errenteria (Gipuzkoa) where he worked, both for "own consumption" and for sale to third parties.
According to the provisional indictment of the Public Ministry, to which Efe has had access, Cruz assumed in 2018 the position of head of the Mugaritz room and sommelier, a position of "full trust" in this haute cuisine establishment distinguished with two Michelin stars. and run by the Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz.
The document places the allegedly criminal acts during the years 2017 and 2018, a period in which
the accused seized "several bottles belonging to the restaurant"
(designated fourth best in the world in 2008).
The accused would have used a part of these bottles valued at 1,744.99 euros for his own "consumption", another part, valued at 29,460.70 euros, he would have sold to a company, and the remaining fraction, valued at 648.31 to a different entity, "allegedly receiving such amounts in his account number".
The Prosecutor's Office considers that these facts constitute a crime of misappropriation for which it claims two years and three months in prison for the accused.
In terms of civil liability, the Public Ministry requests that the injured party be compensated with 31,854 euros for the value of the bottles, also increased with the interest that legally corresponds.
In the context of this case, the parties held a preliminary hearing on Tuesday that concluded without the possibility of an agreement of conformity, with which the outcome of the matter is likely to lead to a trial that would take place in the Court of Gipuzkoa.
As Cadena SER revealed at the time,
Cruz was fired from Mugaritz in January 2019 for "serious events" that were not made public at the time
, after which the sommelier filed a lawsuit for libel and slander against those responsible for Mugaritz , in which he denied all the accusations and argued that the dismissal was unfair
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