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Bootleg blueberry wine triggers Alabama sewage plant raid
Updated Dec 29, 2020;
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By Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/OregonLive
Allen Maurice Stiefel is facing 20 years in prison after local and state law enforcement agents raided the sewage plant he manages. Was Stiefel threatening the welfare of the Rainsville, Alabama, community with some form of sabotage?
“I was making blueberry wine,” Stiefel said in a telephone interview.
The citizens of Rainsville voted in August to end a long dry spell by legalizing the sale of alcohol. On Nov. 9, the city published a list of the first three businesses receiving alcohol licenses. Unfortunately for Stiefel, the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is not on the list.
Sheriffâs officials say theyâve busted an illegal winery that was operating at a municipal sewage plant in a small north Alabama town.
The DeKalb County Sheriffâs Office said in a statement it received an anonymous tip about an alcohol operation at a municipal building in the town of Rainsville on Thursday. Investigators then uncovered whatâs described as a large illegal winery inside the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Photos released by investigators show glass containers, buckets, a fermenting rack and other equipment often used by people who make wine at home.
The agency says officers seized a lot of illegal alcohol and arrested Allen Maurice Stiefel, 62, of Fyffe. He faces a felony charge of use of official position for personal gain and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of an illegally manufactured alcoholic beverage.
Illegal winery busted at Alabama sewage plant
By Wire Reports article
This photo provided by The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office shows an illegal winery that was operating at a municipal sewage plant in Rainsville, Ala.
RAINSVILLE, Ala. - Sheriff’s officials say they ve busted an illegal winery that was operating at a municipal sewage plant in a small north Alabama town.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement it received an anonymous tip about an alcohol operation at a municipal building in the town of Rainsville on Thursday. Investigators then uncovered what’s described as a large illegal winery inside the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Plant.