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, seizing countless lethal drugs and helping prevent overdose deaths.” “He is now looking forward to a new chapter in his professional endeavors,” Storch said. Czech’s plea deal caps the case against the former detectives — who were stripped of their guns and shields and demoted to officers after the incident — brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s police accountability unit in May 2023.
Gonzalez quit the police department in December and pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery in February. Prosecutors earlier this summer moved to dismiss charges against the third cop , Officer Warren Golden, 32, who was accused of standing by idly and doing nothing while his colleagues stole the champagne. He’s still expected to face disciplinary charges, police sources told the Daily News in June.
Reached for comment, an NYPD spokesperson said, “The officer is retired.”.
