Judge Dismisses Empire v. Reliable Case

Yesterday, US District Judge Allyne Ross sided with Breakthru Beverage subsidiary Reliable Churchill (and several other parties), dismissing the lawsuit filed by Empire Merchants.BACKGROUND. Empire Merchants filed federal fraud charges in September against a long list of defendants including: its co-owner Charlie Merinoff, Breakthru chief Greg Baird, Reliable Churchill, along with several Maryland retailers. Empire claimed the defendants defrauded the company through an alcohol smuggling scheme from Maryland to New York to avoid paying taxes for the last eight years,