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A federal grand jury earlier this week indicted five former employees of an alcohol distribution company and a Napa-based winery salesman for allegedly bribing grocery store buyers in California to boost sales of certain alcohol brands, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said.
The indictment filed Tuesday alleges the scheme ran from at least 2016 to 2024 and involved paying bribes to employees at grocery store chains in exchange for increasing purchases of specific alcohol products.
Those charged include Stephen Magliocco, 47, of Trabuco Canyon; Michael Dehdashtian, 48, of Lake Forest; Adrian Ruiz, 54, of Corona; Ryan Dow, 40, of Upland; and Loratina Muscara, 64, of Livermore. Prosecutors said all five were former employees of an alcohol distribution company identified in court documents as Distributor-1, which had offices in Northern and Southern California.
Also charged was Michael Sean Salene, 60, of Garden City, Idaho, a sales employee for a Napa winery.
Federal prosecutors said the defendants and their co-conspirators paid bribes to grocery store alcohol buyers while taking steps to conceal the payments by creating false financial records and forged documents.
According to the indictment, the distribution company and its partners were prohibited from paying bribes to retailers and wholesalers to favor certain alcohol brands. The company was also subject to audits by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a federal agency that enforces alcohol industry regulations.
Prosecutors allege the defendants hid the bribes by using vendors and suppliers to issue false invoices that appeared to be legitimate business expenses. The money was then used to buy prepaid gift cards worth up to $1,000 and luxury items such as watches, purses, golf equipment and exercise gear.
Salene is accused of bribing the head alcohol buyer for a national grocery chain that operates about 300 stores in California, lying to investigators and falsifying invoices.
The five former distribution company employees are each charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruct investigations. Magliocco, Ruiz and Muscara also face charges of falsifying records to obstruct investigations. Salene faces charges including bribery under the federal Travel Act and making false statements.
If convicted, the defendants could face up to five years in prison for conspiracy, bribery, and false statement charges, and up to 20 years for falsifying records. They are scheduled to appear in federal court in Oakland on March 25, prosecutors said.
