Alert: Empire Merchants Files Suit Against Charlie Merinoff

New York-based Empire Merchants has filed federal fraud charges in US District Court against its co-owner Charles Merinoff, Breakthru Beverage chief Greg Baird and several others, including Breakthru's Reliable Churchill and retailers in Maryland. Empire alleges that the defendants defrauded the company through involvement in a smuggling scheme, illegally moving booze from Maryland to New York.Empire Merchants is co-owned by the Merinoff/Drucker family and the Magliocco family. The complaint alleges that Charlie, who is also the co-chairman of Breakthru, and