A former project manager for Francis Ford Coppola's Inglenook Winery in Rutherford is now facing criminal charges accusing him of taking $1.2 million from the sale of wine tanks and using the money for home improvements without the owner's permission. George Giles Beeker III was charged Oct. 2 with grand theft and embezzlement, according to the Napa County District Attorney's Office. The case builds on accusations first raised in a lawsuit Inglenook's owner, Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, filed in July 2024.
At the end of the day, the simple sadness of this case is that you've got John O'Keefe, who died tragically, and the family of John O'Keefe doesn't have answers, and they've focused the spotlight, we believe, on the wrong person.
In a statement of claim filed in June, Jane Boon alleges Stronach sexually assaulted her at a company guest house in December 1986 after plying her with alcohol during a corporate party in Toronto. She also alleges Magna knew Stronach, who was the company's controlling shareholder and director at the time, posed a risk to female students receiving sponsorship and took no steps to warn or protect her.
Nine months after the confrontation that led to her son's death, Ellen Barrett sued the City of Carmel and involved police officers, alleging excessive force during the incident.
"A police officer was allowed to use his badge to put me in jail in exchange for a sexual encounter with the mother of my children, and he still has the power to arrest any citizen. There is no accountability," Trejo said last week through his attorney.
The face-to-face and ultimate dismissal of the criminal charges was 'based on the wishes of the victim and the defendant's willingness to make amends,' Brooklyn DA spokesman Oren Yaniv said in a statement at the time.
