Special agents with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) have apprehended a man for manufacture of illegal whiskey in Roanoke County.
Last Friday, Jan. 27, agents located two active distilleries and said they witnessed a man manufacturing illegal booze.
The agents arrested James Ricky Lyle, 61, of the 2000 block of Sunnyvale Street, in a bust that they said started 18 months ago.
They seized two active copper stills,--one 75 gallon still and one 50 gallon still—four firearms, $11,000 in cash, and lots of mason jars.
I added the emphasis in the third paragraph. The State spent 18 months investigating and then confiscating 200 gallons of moonshine. Since the VA ABC exists to generate revenue for the state, was that a good return on the investment in tax dollars? You decide.
See "ABC agents bust Va. moonshiner for more on this story.
They were probably secretly sampling it to make sure it was illegal... repeatedly... for months.
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