Man faces court over allegedly blackmailing head of the wealthy Casella family

A man has faced court in the New South Wales town of Griffith over the alleged blackmail of John Casella, head of the Casella family which produces the internationally famous Yellow Tail wine label.

Matteo De Dominicis, aged 67, has been accused of blackmailing Giovanni ”John” Casella, for the past two years.

John Casella is the managing director of Casella Wines, which was founded by his parents Filippo and Maria Casella, who immigrated to Australia from Sicily in 1957. The family, which accounts for 19% of Australia’s total bottled wine exports, was valued at $665 million in this year’s BRW Rich 200.

The Griffith Local Court was told that John Casella paid a substantial amount of money to De Dominicis, who allegedly started making demands for cash payments in February 28.

According to media reports, Casella went to the police on December 6 after allegedly receiving a demand for $5 million.

According to a statement New South Wales police, De Dominicis was arrested on December 9 after Casella reported the matter. He was charged with four counts of blackmail.

Yesterday in court he was remanded in custody. The case was adjourned until February.

The case comes less than two months after Filippo Casella died at the age of 88 after a long battle with illness. Filippo established Casella Wines in 1969, concentrating initially on the bulk wine market.

John took over the running of the business in 1994, accelerating the family company’s growth by launching the Yellow Tail brand into the United States. The company now exports about 12 million cases of wine each year.