PORT MATILDA, Pa. — Investigators said a central Pennsylvania couple charged with illegally making and selling moonshine for 30 years told them the recipe was passed down by a legendary NASCAR driver.
According to WJAC-TV, Glenn and Barabara McCleester, 79 and 65 respectively, of Port Matilda face charges of unlawful sales of liquor, among others.
The investigation began in April last year after an anonymous complaint said the couple were “bootleggers.”
Between April 2021 and January 2022, an undercover officer from the Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement made four separate moonshine purchases from the couple, who sold it for $60 per gallon jug.
The criminal complaint states when the officer first met the couple, they said their recipe had been passed down from “legendary moonshiner” and former NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Barbara McCleester showed the officer how “pure” their hooch was by lighting it on fire and showing how the flame was blue, not orange.
On January 26, officers served a search warrant at the couple’s cabin and seized their distilling equipment.
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