A former NYPD narcotics detective resigned from the force Tuesday after pleading guilty to stealing bottles of champagne worth thousands of dollars at the Electric Zoo festival in 2022 when he was supposed to be patrolling for drugs. At a brief Manhattan Criminal Court hearing, Wojciech Czech, 45, admitted to one count of misdemeanor petit larceny in a plea deal with prosecutors that required him to quit his job. If he stays out of trouble and completes 15 days of community service, he can plead down to a violation to wipe clean his criminal record at his sentencing on Feb.
5. Czech was one of three detectives indicted for the September 2022 robbery that occurred while they were on the lookout for drug activity with Manhattan North Narcotics in the VIP section of the Randall’s Island festival. He admitted to helping ex-NYPD Officer Jonathan Gonzalez , 34, stash two unopened bottles of Armand de Brignac in a backpack after Gonzalez swiped them from a table of concertgoers when they weren’t looking.
The pricey bubbly — worth $2,900 a bottle — is widely referred to by its logo, the Ace of Spades. Rapper Jay-Z and a French luxury goods company own the brand. The detectives were caught by one of the concertgoers who confronted them in front of festival security, who then confiscated the bottles and called the NYPD.
Reached for comment, Czech’s lawyer Oliver Storch praised his client’s “10 years of outstanding service as a Manhattan North Narcotics Unit member, seizin.