Turns out there’s more than one man turning water into wine.
According to a local news article released on Thursday, Alabama authorities are investigating an underground winemaking operation at the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Facility. After receiving an anonymous complaint, the facility was searched and a large amount of illegal alcohol was seized.
The severity of the crime was heightened because the town of Rainsville is in Dekalb County, where the sale of alcohol is only permitted in the cities of Collinsville, Henagar, and Ft. Payne. Moreover, because the “winery” was housed in the Waste Water Treatment Facility, the sheriff’s department suspects city employees are to blame.
While the investigation is still ongoing, the sheriff’s office expects to file charges in the coming days. DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden thanked the facility for its cooperation, and warned that authorities, “won’t tolerate anyone using their position to hide their illegal actions at the taxpayer’s expense.”
Earlier this year, Rainsville applied to legalize local alcohol sales and a referendum was approved but the operation still falls outside of what’s legal in the county. The winery seems to have been “in operation for a long period of time,” according to News 19, so it’s unclear just how many gallons of chillable red made it out before the bust.
