Posted on: Thursday, August 9, 2001

Sia's wines go on the block

Advertiser wire services

Some of the wine collection of former Bank of Honolulu chairman Sukamto Sia went to auction today in Los Angeles.

The businessman who faces bank fraud and other federal charges in Honolulu allegedly failed to tell his bankruptcy trustee about the wine.

Sia originally claimed a collection that amounted to a few hundred bottles worth about $60,000. Those were auctioned in 1999.

But trustee Guido Giacometti said Sia secretly shipped several thousand pounds of wine bottles that year to his $4.5 million estate in the Los Angeles suburb of Bel Air.

Today's invitation-only auction was at the estate.

Sia, who was originally held at Oahu Community Correctional Center, was allowed to move to Bel Air to await treatment at the University of Southern California for a problem with his parathyroid gland.