Businessman indicted in wine warehouse blaze

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A businessman has been indicted in a 2005 blaze that destroyed a warehouse and $100 million worth of rare vintage wines, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Mark Anderson, who stored wine at the warehouse for his clients, started a blaze that destroyed 6 million bottles to cover up a scheme in which he sold his clients’ wine without their permission, prosecutors said.

The charges against Anderson, 58, include arson, tax evasion, mail fraud, using a fake name and interstate transportation of fraudulently obtained property.

Anderson appeared Monday before a judge in San Francisco and will remain in jail until a hearing scheduled for Thursday. He will then be transferred to Sacramento.