XPost: alt.government.shills, alt.california, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: roger@invalid.invalid   
      
   ACalifornia based wine company has lost more than 2,000 bottles of wine   
   and other alcoholic beverages to the city government after illegally   
   fermenting their product in the ocean.   
      
   Ocean Fathoms was required to turn over their stash to the Santa Barbara   
   District Attorney’s Office as part of their plea agreement, the district   
   attorney’s office wrote in a press release Wednesday.   
      
   Local wastewater treatment plants took care of the alcohol and the glass   
   bottles were recycled.   
      
   The disposal of Ocean Fathoms’ wine was the result of a plea agreement,   
   one where two of the three founders pled guilty to three misdemeanor   
   charges for illegally discharging material into U.S. waters, selling   
   alcohol without a license, in addition to aiding and abetting investor   
   fraud, the press release said.   
      
   Ocean Fathoms driven by scarcity of product   
   According to the attorney’s office, Emanuele Azzaretto and Todd Hahn began   
   to dump crates of wine one mile from the Santa Barbara coast as early as   
   2017.   
      
   Azzaretto and Hahn did not obtain the necessary permits from the   
   California Coastal Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before   
   placing the crates on the ocean floor.   
      
   The appeal of aging wine in the ocean to Ocean Fathoms was the idea of   
   scarcity.   
      
   “A single bottle of rare and unique wine can engender unbroken dinner   
   conversation even through the rise of the next morning sun. However, to   
   most, scarcity is expensive; to the affluent it’s simply a part of ‘The   
   Story’” according to the Ocean Fathoms website.   
   Those cases were left on the ocean floor for over a year, just long enough   
   for a reef ecosystem to develop on the crates and bottles.   
      
   “The motive for engaging in this unlawful operation was financial, and the   
   People’s complaint alleged that nearly every aspect of their business was   
   conducted in violation of state or federal law,” the attorney’s office   
   wrote.   
      
   Wine brewed in the ocean is not safe   
   The business partners began to sell the bottles of wine for about $500   
   despite the Food and Drug Administration’s warning that the wine was not   
   fit for human consumption because it was submerged in the ocean and   
   potentially contaminated.   
      
   They also lacked federally approved labeling on the wine, an Alcoholic   
   Beverage Control sales permit or business license, and were not paying the   
   state of California sales tax.   
      
   Ocean Fathoms also advertised that it would be donating a portion of its   
   profits to a local environmental nonprofit, but there was no evidence to   
   indicate that any donations occurred.   
      
   The pair was required to pay one of their investors back and are not   
   allowed to continue operating their business in any way that violates   
   state or federal law.   
      
   “This case involved individuals who operated with complete disregard for   
   our consumer and environmental laws … The case highlights the importance   
   of our office’s relationship with outside agencies and it demonstrates our   
   commitment to holding companies and individuals accountable for violating   
   all types of consumer and environmental laws.” District Attorney John T.   
   Savrnoch wrote.   
      
   Ocean Fathoms has not returned USA Today’s request for comment.   
      
   This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California based wine   
   company has 2,000 bottles seized for fermenting wine in ocean illegally   
      
   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-based-wine-company-has-2-000-   
   bottles-seized-for-fermenting-wine-in-ocean-illegally/ar-AA1faqCq   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)