Ten-year investigation tries to break a homemade tradition

ROANOKE, Va. -- For generations, state agents have chased moonshiners in rural parts of Virginia, raiding chicken coops, tobacco barns and old warehouses for the illegal brew.

The strong country whiskey, synonymous with Appalachian culture, has made millionaires of families who've quietly produced hooch in these hills, shipping it north to shot houses in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

But with guilty pleas from some of the region's biggest bootleggers, police now are claiming a major victory against the industry.

On Monday, seven more alleged moonshiners will be in federal court, facing charges in what has become the most comprehensive moonshine investigation in Appalachia. Twelve people already have pleaded guilty, and only one, Ralph Hale Sr., maintains his innocence.

Investigators hope Operation Lightning Strike, a collaboration of federal and state agents in Virginia and North Carolina, puts a lasting dent in a tradition that has remained strong in the region.

Moonshine traditions

Authorities estimate that moonshiners produced an estimated 1.5 million gallons of liquor from 1992 to 1999, ducking $19.6 million in federal taxes.

Franklin County, a rural area 200 miles southwest of Richmond where Hale's business allegedly thrived, embraces its moonshining tradition. T-shirts proudly proclaim the county the "Moonshine Capital of the World." A high school wrestling tournament is called the Moonshine Classic. An annual charity race is named the White Lightning Run.

Whiskey first came to the mountains with Scots-Irish settlers, who mixed sugar and yeast into a tough brew. "Moonshining," so named because the clandestine activity was often conducted under cover of darkness, thrived during Prohibition.

In the 1950s, just about everyone in rural Virginia kept a little bottle underneath their sinks, said Jack Allen Powell, 67, a retired agent of Virginia's Alcohol Beverage Control Board who wrote a book about moonshine in 1996 called "A Dying Art." The untaxed stuff was cheap, and an easy way to get drunk, McEntire said.

Hidden tax money

Authorities allege Hale, believed to be one of the biggest moonshiners in Virginia, made 213,780 gallons of moonshine with his family from 1992 to 1999. In an effort to hide the profits, including $2.9 million in unpaid federal taxes, investigators claim Hale bought property in family members' names and ran a cattle ranch with his wife.

Hale, 61, his son Ralph Hale Jr., 22, and sister Shirley Hale Whitlow, 53, are accused of illegal production of untaxed liquor, money laundering, and other federal offenses. Hale's wife, Judy, 49, and two others face charges for minor roles in illegal moonshine operations.

What has made Operation Lightning Strike successful is that federal authorities have a wider variety of charges in their arsenal than state prosecutors, said Bev Whitmer, a special agent with Virginia ABC based in Roanoke.

If convicted, Hale could face almost a lifetime in jail and millions in fines. Instead of taking their chances in court, most of those snared decided to plead guilty, forfeiting property and cooperating with ongoing investigations against other moonshiners.