The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1935-05-18
Anticipated Capture
frustrated By Word
Flashed T D Operators
Federal Men Reported Mystified Over Disappearance
Of Night Crew Big DistiIIery Found ''PercoIating"
But No One on Premises Ownership Is Mystery


The yet unapprehended owners
Of the mammoth still found in q
tower and sheds adjoining aScoaI
yard on South Leonard street last
week took every care to make the
tracing of themselves and their
consequent identification, from
what federal men have vet been
able to discover, the Democrat has
learned. Every name, numeral and
label on the apparatus and mater
Yials used in the huge Illicit distiD-
lery was obliterated beyond pos
sibIe Identification, leaving the
government investigators facing u
blank wall as they carried on their
search 70 rthe operators.
There Is current in some circles
this week a report that the fed
eral men are not only searching
for the owners Of the still but are
endeavoring to solve at the same
time another mystery connected
with the alcohol manufacturing
establishment. The mystery un-
doubtedly Is the fact that despite
the fact that the still was in full
operation when raided and the
raid itself was a surprise move
by the government agents, no one
was found on the premises when
the raiding party arrived. 1t Is the
usual duty at q still whenever 1t
is in operation, and 1t seems quite
logical to presume that at least one
man was at work in the distillery
not long before the raiders arrived
at the South Leonard street place.
Identity Mystery
Thus far, the same source says.
the internal revenue men have
been able to make no definite pro-
gress in their attempts to learn the
identity of the individual or group
which was responsible for the
erection and operation Of the dis
tillery, described by Chief Investi-
gator Joseph c. O'Kane after the
raid as the largest illicit still dis
covered in New England since
repeal.
Even in ordering their materials,
it has been learned, the bootleg
gers took every care to- cover
their traces SO that disclosure Of
their identities would be made
nearly impossible. A huge quanti-
ty of molasses must have been
used daily and weekly In making
mash, but It was so ordered and
shipped that efforts to trace the
ownership through that source
have been unsuccessful. It Is be-
lieved that The molasses, most OF it
at least, came indirectly from q
city, it is sold to have been shipped
to many Connecticut wholesalers.
and probably brought by the still
operators through at least several
jobbers, ewho could easily have
been ignorant of the use to which
the molasses was to be put.
Firm Names Gone
Dissection of the still apparatus
showed that every firm name and
serial number had been obliterated.
in some cases said to have been
burned off with acid. Even ordin-
ar ystrips of metal and piping was
treated in this way when the ap-
paratus was put together. In the
erection OF the still. its owners
went SO far as to smudge the
trade names from tiny pipe sand
pieces of metal which are sold in
such quantities that tracing of
them would hardly be possible in
any case.
About the only tangible trace Of
their presence Nleft by owners and
by the workmen who actually kept
the huge still in operations were
some pencil writing and figuring
done on the beaverboard in the
room where apparently at least one
worker always remained.
Meanwhile, attempts to locate
the James Beano" named as the
last man who rented the tower
and garage have been as complete
in their failure as investigation OF
every other lead. 'Beano", 1t is
said unofficially, is believed by the
federal men to exist nowhere but
in Imagination.