http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...D=2007710170334A little more background on the case.
Extortionist in trouble again, for bail violations
By ALLAN DRURY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: October 17, 2007)
Jessica Wolcott caused a world of trouble for an executive with The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. last year. Now she can't seem to stop causing trouble for herself.
A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Wolcott for allegedly violating her bail conditions by conducting winery tours, walking hiking trails and cutting an electronic monitoring bracelet off her leg.
Wolcott, 23, was wearing the bracelet and had her travel restricted because she was out on bail pending her scheduled Nov. 15 sentencing for demanding $125,000 from Gary K. Wandschneider, an executive vice president with Somers-based Pepsi Bottling whom she met on a Web site dedicated to pairing wealthy men with women.
According to court records, after exchanging e-mails, the two met at a bar in Mount Kisco where Wolcott told Wandschneider she had debts and needed $30,000, which Wandschneider later sent to her. Later, she demanded the $125,000, threatening to expose his online activities to his family, employer and the public if he did not ply her with the money.
Wandschneider paid big for his contacts with Wolcott.
After Wolcott's arrest, Pepsi Bottling, began an investigation into whether he used his company computer for non-work-related activities. He left the company shortly afterward, though the company would not say whether he left voluntarily.
Wandschneider went to the FBI with the information and agents wired her the money as part of a sting to catch Wolcott.
Wolcott, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort Wandschneider, already faced a likely prison sentence. Her latest behavior, which is detailed in a memo Scott Kowall, a court pretrial services officer, wrote last week to U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth M. Karas, makes prison more probable.
Kowall said a pretrial officer from the Northern District of New York advised him that he made a routine visit to Wolcott's apartment in August and found a number of empty beer and wine bottles on the counter. One of the conditions of her bail is that she not drink excessively.
By checking a global positioning system, the officer found Wolcott had violated the travel restrictions while giving the winery tours and hiking, Kowall said.
Kowall said Wolcott - whose lawyer could not be reached yesterday afternoon - claimed she removed the monitoring bracelet because she had spilled hot wax on her leg. She also did not show up to have the bracelet put back on, as ordered, Kowall said.
Wolcott had another brush with the law since her arrest for extortion.
Prosecutors asked at a hearing in April that Wolcott, who was out on bail, be placed in jail because of her arrest following a fight in a bar in Seneca Falls. She was charged with assault, giving the police false information and aggravated driving with a suspended license.
Her lawyer, Susanne Brody, told a judge it was unclear who was at fault in the fight. She said police misspelled Wolcott's name on a form and then charged her with lying to them about her identity.
She said the driving charge stemmed from a 2002 ticket that Wolcott did not recall she had.
According to Kowall's report, the district attorney in that case is waiting for the federal charges to be settled before taking action in connection with the bar fight.