NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Nashville-area plumber will get back most of his million-dollar collection of Jack Daniel's whiskey bottles in a settlement with the state's liquor board.

Randy Piper was indicted last January after state liquor officials seized 2,400 bottles in October 2007. The state said he was selling liquor without a license, but Piper has said he was collecting the whiskey for the vintage glass bottles.

Piper avoided jail time by agreeing to pretrial diversion. Now the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission has agreed to return most of the bottles, some nearly 100 years old.

As part of the settlement, Piper also agreed to pay the ABC $15,000 and promised not to bypass Tennessee's liquor distribution system.

Piper's attorney Raymond Fraley Jr. said his client was pleased with the settlement that was reached late last month.
"We were arguing the bottles were for collectibles, not used for consuming," Fraley said.

ABC Executive Director Danielle Elks could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday. She told The Tennessean the state will keep and later auction off 400 to 500 bottles, mainly the less valuable green label whiskey and a third of the special reserve bottles.

The public won't be able to bid on the bottles, but anyone who holds a liquor license in Tennessee - retailers or wholesalers - is free to bid, Elks said. Most of the proceeds from the auction will go to the state's general fund.

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AP-CS-01-07-09 1246EST


AP-CS-01-07-09 1246EST