ohio
Bronze Member
- May 28, 2007
- 1,039
- 21
Moonshine Still discovered on West
>High St.
>By Tom Marshall
>
>Senior Advocate writer – Mt. Sterling Advocate,
>219 Midland Trail, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353
>Authorities say they found an operational moonshine still Tuesday
>on West
>High Street.
>The still was discovered when agents from the U.S. Department of the
>Interior served a search warrant at 324 W. High St., said Nathan Jones,
>staff assistant with the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.
>In addition to the still, agents found a drum filled with corn mash and 37
>mason jars filled with moonshine, Jones said.
>The agents contacted the ABC and local police for assistance and arrested
>Alexander C. Przygoda, 31, he said. Przygoda was charged with possession of
>apparatus for unlawful manufacture of alcohol, operating without a license
>and presence of alcohol raising presumption of intent to sell. The charges
>are all misdemeanors.
>He was booked into the Montgomery County Regional Jail and later released.
>Jones said evidence collected at the residence was taken to the Frankfort
>ABC office.
>Agents with the Interior served a search warrant at the residence last year
>and removed numerous items, but declined comment on the nature of that
>investigation. Przygoda, an artifacts collector, told the Advocate at the
>time that the investigation centered on some artifacts he¹d been sent and
>whether they were federally protected items.
>
>
>Officials: Moonshine still a shocking, rare find
>By Tom Marshall
>Senior Advocate writer
>Local officials say they were surprised to learn that someone was
>bold
>enough to operate a moonshine still in downtown Mt. Sterling.
>Authorities seized a suspected moonshine still April 27 at a home on West
>High Street belonging to artifacts collector Alexander C. Przygoda, 31. He
>was charged with three misdemeanors.
>The seizure of a moonshine still downtown caught Mt. Sterling Mayor Gary
>Williamson off guard.
>³I had no idea we had a moonshine still here in Mt. Sterling,² the mayor
>said. ³I have lived here my whole life and that¹s a first for me that we had
>a moonshine still.
>³At first I was taken aback,² he added. ³This is not right. We don¹t have
>moonshine stills in the middle of town, but I guess we do.²
>Such a find is rare for law enforcement.
>³Finding working stills is less common and is very rare in this area of the
>state,² Mt. Sterling police Capt. David Charles said. ³The last still I had
>anything to do with was over 16 years ago. None of the other officers
>present at the scene had seen a working still before. They had seen museum
>pieces.²
>Charles said it is unusual to find a still of this kind.
>³This was a quality constructed still,² he said. ³A lot of thought process
>had gone into the manufacture of this still opposed to the older stills that
>were mostly cobbled together using spare parts. This was a professionally
>made apparatus that he was distilling liquor with.²
>A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the still was ³something
>you expect to find in the 1930s.² Przygoda declined comment.
>Authorities were unsure how long the still had been in operation.
>It was reportedly discovered in the basement when agents with the U.S. Parks
>Service and Mt. Sterling police went to serve an unrelated search warrant at
>the home, Charles said.
>The state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control was called and is leading
>the investigation into operation of the still.
>At the home authorities found 70 gallons of mash, corn, sugar and 37 mason
>jars of experimental moonshine someone was trying to perfect, Charles said.
>The still included a 30-gallon thumper used to heat the mash and a 15-gallon
>cooling tank, he said.
>Two small children were at the residence at the time, but had no access to
>the still or any of the components, Charles said.
>The Mt. Sterling Street Department removed the still that was taken to
>Frankfort as evidence by the ABC, he said.
>Przygoda was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Regional Jail
>where he was later released. He will be arraigned at a later date in
>Montgomery County District Court.
>High St.
>By Tom Marshall
>
>Senior Advocate writer – Mt. Sterling Advocate,
>219 Midland Trail, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353
>Authorities say they found an operational moonshine still Tuesday
>on West
>High Street.
>The still was discovered when agents from the U.S. Department of the
>Interior served a search warrant at 324 W. High St., said Nathan Jones,
>staff assistant with the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.
>In addition to the still, agents found a drum filled with corn mash and 37
>mason jars filled with moonshine, Jones said.
>The agents contacted the ABC and local police for assistance and arrested
>Alexander C. Przygoda, 31, he said. Przygoda was charged with possession of
>apparatus for unlawful manufacture of alcohol, operating without a license
>and presence of alcohol raising presumption of intent to sell. The charges
>are all misdemeanors.
>He was booked into the Montgomery County Regional Jail and later released.
>Jones said evidence collected at the residence was taken to the Frankfort
>ABC office.
>Agents with the Interior served a search warrant at the residence last year
>and removed numerous items, but declined comment on the nature of that
>investigation. Przygoda, an artifacts collector, told the Advocate at the
>time that the investigation centered on some artifacts he¹d been sent and
>whether they were federally protected items.
>
>
>Officials: Moonshine still a shocking, rare find
>By Tom Marshall
>Senior Advocate writer
>Local officials say they were surprised to learn that someone was
>bold
>enough to operate a moonshine still in downtown Mt. Sterling.
>Authorities seized a suspected moonshine still April 27 at a home on West
>High Street belonging to artifacts collector Alexander C. Przygoda, 31. He
>was charged with three misdemeanors.
>The seizure of a moonshine still downtown caught Mt. Sterling Mayor Gary
>Williamson off guard.
>³I had no idea we had a moonshine still here in Mt. Sterling,² the mayor
>said. ³I have lived here my whole life and that¹s a first for me that we had
>a moonshine still.
>³At first I was taken aback,² he added. ³This is not right. We don¹t have
>moonshine stills in the middle of town, but I guess we do.²
>Such a find is rare for law enforcement.
>³Finding working stills is less common and is very rare in this area of the
>state,² Mt. Sterling police Capt. David Charles said. ³The last still I had
>anything to do with was over 16 years ago. None of the other officers
>present at the scene had seen a working still before. They had seen museum
>pieces.²
>Charles said it is unusual to find a still of this kind.
>³This was a quality constructed still,² he said. ³A lot of thought process
>had gone into the manufacture of this still opposed to the older stills that
>were mostly cobbled together using spare parts. This was a professionally
>made apparatus that he was distilling liquor with.²
>A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the still was ³something
>you expect to find in the 1930s.² Przygoda declined comment.
>Authorities were unsure how long the still had been in operation.
>It was reportedly discovered in the basement when agents with the U.S. Parks
>Service and Mt. Sterling police went to serve an unrelated search warrant at
>the home, Charles said.
>The state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control was called and is leading
>the investigation into operation of the still.
>At the home authorities found 70 gallons of mash, corn, sugar and 37 mason
>jars of experimental moonshine someone was trying to perfect, Charles said.
>The still included a 30-gallon thumper used to heat the mash and a 15-gallon
>cooling tank, he said.
>Two small children were at the residence at the time, but had no access to
>the still or any of the components, Charles said.
>The Mt. Sterling Street Department removed the still that was taken to
>Frankfort as evidence by the ABC, he said.
>Przygoda was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Regional Jail
>where he was later released. He will be arraigned at a later date in
>Montgomery County District Court.
Upvote
0
