John Saunders, the Man Accused of Drinking $102,000 Worth Whiskey Dies

Alcohol is a strange and strong addiction. It may leave long-lasting impact on many lives, both physically and financially.

This man was a former live-in caretaker of a huge mansion near Pittsburgh area. As a part of his duty, he what was supposed to guard the whiskey, but he drank them all. The 63-year-old John Saunders was accused of allegedly drinking off more than $102,000 worth of old whiskey.

He managed to drink these intoxicating, expensive whiskey all by himself.

According to the report by Huffinton Post, in 2013, a district judge ordered a probe against John Saunders. Saunders, originally from Irwin, was asked to stand trial after the judge heard testimony from the owner of the South Broadway Manor Bed and Breakfast.

But as explained by the Tribune-Review report, Saunders died on July 21 and with his death, the case ended right there.

The owner of the mansion, Patricia Hill, told police that she bought this place in 2011 and found nine 12-bottle cases of whiskey. These whiskey cases were hidden in the century-old mansion that was built by industrialist J.P. Brennan.

According to court records, Hill then engaged Saunders to take care of the property. She also wanted him to carefully look after the whiskey bottles.

Hill was also known to be a longtime friend of Saunders.

But unfortunately, when Hill went to have the pre-Prohibition Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey appraised in March 2012, she discovered the bitter truth. There were 52 empty bottles on which later on, police claimed to have found DNA from Saunders' saliva.

The whiskey was produced in 1912 and bottled in 1917 by the West Overton Distilling Co. and was appraised at more than $2,000 a bottle.

During Saunder’s arrest, Hill told police that the complete worth of whiskey would be $102,000.

At the time of his preliminary hearing in spring, Saunders denied the charge of consuming the whiskey.

“Yuck! That stuff had floaters in it and all kind of stuff inside the bottles. I don't think it would even be safe to drink,” Saunders told the Tribune-Review.

“I think Pat's looking for money. I'd say that whiskey's real value is about $10 a bottle and she hired someone to inflate the price. That whiskey was there for years and years, kept in a stinky, dirty basement and probably has gone through flooding and all,” Saunders was quoted saying.