PORTSMOUTH — Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said Thursday that his office was never involved in investigating the disappearance of an estimated $100,000 worth of wine from the state liquor store in Portsmouth.

He said he was stunned when he saw state Liquor Commission Chairman Joseph Mollica tell WMUR on Monday: “We brought it to the Rockingham County Attorney and they looked at it and found that it was inconclusive ... in terms of any criminal wrongdoing.”

“I was surprised, because I knew that wasn't true,” Reams said Thursday evening.

Reams said the only involvement his office had in the case was when a state liquor enforcement officer, who was in their office a few months ago for another matter, mentioned an investigation in Portsmouth, “as an 'oh by the way' kind of thing.

“I never heard another word about it until it was on the news the other day,” he said.

Officials aren't saying if the disappearance of 300 cases of fine wine are an actual theft or was simply an accounting blunder. The issue apparently arose in December, but Gov. John Lynch, the Executive Council and the state Attorney General's Office were not brought into the loop until June as the Liquor Commission apparently treated the matter as an internal issue.

The Attorney General's Office has taken over the investigation.

Reams said his office issued no opinion on the investigation and never received any investigative files on the matter from the Liquor Commission, despite Mollica's assertion to the television station. Mollica could not be reached Thursday for comment.

“It is against our policy to issue verbal opinions about criminal cases,” Reams said. “If we'd told him no, it would have been in writing. But it isn't in writing because we never told them that.”

Reams said he would like to speak to Mollica about the comments to WMUR, “but the AG's Office has asked me not to.”

“Where did Mollica get his information? I don't know,” Reams said.

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Tim Buckland may be reached at tbuckland@unionleader.com.