Robert attempts to flee a grand jury subpoena and leads investigators into a high-speed chase across two states. His apprehension kicks off one of the most sensational murder trials of the 1990s, just as the wine fraud prosecutions begin to wrap up. But after 8 years of drama, what effect will these shocking events have on the industry—and on Jack’s legacy?Listen to Blood Vines on the Wondery app or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting www.wondery.com/links/blood-vines.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What happened when Robert Licciardi fled from the grand jury?
This is investigator Wayne Peterson, who, as you'll recall, had just watched Robert Licciardi flee from his grand jury hearing at a Stockton courthouse. As soon as a judge issued a warrant for Robert's arrest, Peterson raced to Robert's house. It was now past sunset, and Peterson hoped to catch Robert at home.
And I can remember about a block or two away seeing his Corvette back out of the driveway and seeing the headlights on it and just take off. Peterson rammed his accelerator to the floor. And I'm trying to catch up with him.
But Robert's sports car was too fast for Peterson's government sedan.
He jumps on the freeway.
And when Peterson lost sight of Robert's green Corvette, he already knew it was too late. Shortly after that, we lost him. We couldn't find him. Robert was gone. Now the question was, where was he going? It was an unnerving thought for people like Michael and Norma, who kept listening for the growl of a Corvette engine coming down their cul-de-sac. It never came.
Four days passed, and then... I get a phone call from Cellular One.
A cell phone provider.
And they say that Robert Licciardi had activated his cell phone, and it was called Las Vegas Cell Site 20.
Peterson quickly faxed the Las Vegas PD photos of Robert and his car, which the department distributed to all the major casinos on the strip. Within 48 hours, a call came in from Caesar's Palace.
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Chapter 2: How did the investigators track down Robert?
At Robert's residence. And Peterson told me that wasn't all he discovered.
We found evidence that he had traveled to Panama. As I recall on the invoice from the hotel he stayed at, there were several phone calls and we were able to trace it to, I find out that number was a bank not too far from the hotel that he had stayed at.
To this day, do you have any idea if he had funneled money down there?
That's a suspicion, but at that time it would be impossible to even trace any of it out.
At his trial, Robert argued vehemently against the idea that he sheltered any money abroad. He argued vehemently against pretty much everything the prosecution said.
They just, he got away with saying anything he wanted. He's taking money to Panama, he's doing this and that, and it just got to the point where it was just ridiculous.
Yeah, yeah. So you were just down in Panama vacationing? I went to Panama just to, yeah, have a vacation.
The deputy district attorney, Tom Testa, wasn't buying it. Over and over again, he returned to money as Robert's driving motivation. He pointed out how the grape scandal created instability in the Licciardi family, and he argued that Robert took advantage of that instability in a most evil way.
Here was a son, the prosecutor said, who committed patricide to gain complete control over his father's estate. And to hit that point home, Testa called upon Jacqueline Luchardi as his final witness. Jack's youngest daughter squarely placed blame at the feet of her brother. She grew emotional on the stand, providing wrenching testimony and at times tearing up in front of the jury.
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