Bust in B'klyn graper caper
‘Unlicensed moonshine’ mill
This alleged Brooklyn bootlegger is no Al Capone.
The chichi Red Hook Winery, known for its eclectic selection, waterfront ambience and celeb guests like TV personality/cookbook author Katie Lee, was raided last week and its owner busted for allegedly churning out illegal moonshine, The Post has learned.
Investigators ordered owner Mark Snyder to dismantle four gas-fired stills, which they said were explosion hazards, according to the State Liquor Authority.
It would be the first bust of a bootlegger in the city since 1960, state officials said.
Snyder was accused of making grappa, a potent Italian-style brandy that is 35 percent to 60 percent alcohol. Probers said they found 40 cases of the booze in the back of the Van Dyke Street facility.
“The discovery of an illegal moonshine operation in the heart of Brooklyn is nothing short of shocking, given how easy and inexpensive it is to obtain a distiller’s license in New York state,” said SLA Counsel Christopher Riano.
Snyder was led away in handcuffs following the Wednesday raid, authorities said, and was charged by the city Sheriff’s Office with the illicit manufacturing of alcoholic beverages.
The Class E felony is punishable by one to four years in prison.
Snyder, a former sound technician for Billy Joel and Peter Frampton, denied any wrongdoing.
“It wasn’t a moonshine operation,” he said, laughing. “This is an administrative issue and a misunderstanding. We’re a small craft-beverage producer.”
Snyder’s attorney, Diane Ferrone, called the charges “outrageous,” saying her client had al- ready been working with the SLA on getting his distiller’s license. The license costs $1,450. Authorities said the stills were connected to gas-powered heat sources and illegally hooked up to natural-gas lines.
Meanwhile, a makeshift electrical box with open, exposed wires was installed directly above the gas burners, the SLA said.
The Red Hook Winery, which remains open, was founded a decade ago by Snyder. It offers more than 70 different reds and whites curated by three winemakers, including Napa Valley vino savant Robert Foley. The warehouse overlooks the Red Hook channel and Governors Island.
In 2009, when the winery unveiled its first bottlings, the launch party was hosted by cookbook author Lee and chronicled in Food & Wine, which called the winery “the most unexpected example yet of the urban winemaking trend.”