Florida Man Charged After Moonshine Fire

wftv ^ | 15-dec-2003

[stainlessbanner]

Luis Manuel Orama says he just wanted to make a little homemade moonshine for Christmas.

But the Lee County Sheriff's Office says a wood-burning fire used in the fermentation process got out of control late Thursday, engulfing the outdoor still and spreading to his detached garage with three vehicles inside.

Orama, 52, was charged with second-degree arson and possession of a still to manufacture liquor. He told investigators he was making moonshine for Christmas.

Authorities said the fire caused about $50,000 in damages, but no one was hurt.

Investigators later found several propane tanks behind the garage and empty jugs, hoses, a water system and three 55-gallon drums - one filled with a fermenting liquid. The incident has raised some eyebrows in the neighborhood.

"That's kind of nuts," said neighbor Joy Harris. "We really don't talk to our neighbors."

[stainlessbanner]

hooch bump

[billorites]

Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little brown jug, don't I love thee!
Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little brown jug, don't I love thee!

[Maelstrom]

How do they know he wasn't using it to make fuel instead of liquor?

[Constitution Day]

Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew
White lightnin' 'stead of mountain dew
I took a little sip and right away I knew
As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue
Mighty, mighty pleasin, pappy's corn squeezin'
Shhhoooh . . . white lightnin'

[martin_fierro]

	Industrial Strength Humor
No amateurs, please. Send FReepmail if you want on/off ISHP list

I can see why he'd want to make his own hootch.

That Everclear is SO hard to come by.

[Oberon]

How do they know he wasn't using it to make fuel instead of liquor?

It wouldn't have mattered if he'd been caught in the act of pouring it into his lawn tractor's gas tank... the feds don't permit you to distill your own alcohol, period. It prevents them from getting their share of taxes.

[Restore]

[ChefKeith]

The Big Red Trailer???

[E. Pluribus Unum]

But the Lee County Sheriff's Office says a wood-burning fire used in the fermentation process got out of control...

You wouldn't use a fire in the fermentation process.

You would use it in the distillation process.

[millefleur]

so it's ok to make your own wine and beer in small batches for personal consumption but not sell it,
but absolutely no private label Absolut ?

[Slings and Arrows]

IIRC, in New Mexico it's legal for people to distill up to 50 gallons a year for "personal use" - and believe me, they do!

[Chad Fairbanks]

Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug
Make's wanna say "Heidi-ho!"
Burns you house don't ya know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug...

[xsmommy]

hey, nothing beats homemade! ; )

[blackdog]

I was given some home distilled rum for christmas in 1988. It was made by a family in Florida who had come here from Columbia. In the bottom of this huge jug were also cinnamon sticks, prunes, raisins, spices, and lots of oval leaves which were similar to the size and shape of azalea bush leaves. We opened it during our family christmas and from ninety to fifteen years of age, everyone drank heartily either straight, with soda, or egg nogg. What a wildly good time was had by all.

After the holiday was over, my co-worker told me that those leaves were from the plant used to make cocaine. The alchohol leaches the cocaine from them. I made sure the bottle made it into someone elses trash.

[blackdog]

But isn't the law prohibiting distillation a federal law? How does the federal court for that district balance the relaxed state law versus the federal prohibition?

[cinFLA]

The information below was taken verbatum from the official BATF web site.

Distillation of Alcohol and Stills

Under Federal rules administered by ATF, the legality depends on how you use a still. You may not produce alcohol unless you qualify as a distilled spirits plant (see ATF FAQ's page at their web site.) However, owning a small still and using it for other purposes is allowed. You should also check with your State and local authorities - their rules may differ.

A still is defined as apparatus capable of being used to separate ethyl alcohol from a mixture that contains alcohol. Small stills (with a cubic distilling capacity of a gallon or less) that are used for laboratory purposes or for distilling water or other non-alcoholic materials are exempt from our rules. If you buy a small still and use it to distill water or extract essential oils by steam or water extraction methods, you are not subject to ATF requirements. If you produce essential oils by a solvent method and you get alcohol as a by-product of your process, ATF considers that distilling. Even though you are using and recovering purchased alcohol, you are separating the alcohol from a mixture -distilling.

Under regulations in part 170 of title 27, Code of Federal Regulations, ATF has the right to require manufacturers of stills to give them the name and address of each customer. If they choose to impose this requirement, they inform the manufacturer of the stills by letter.

[Slings and Arrows]

I honestly don't know. It might make a difference that, in the parts of New Mexico I was in, the Feds don't get a lot of cooperation, if you take my meaning.

[Oberon]

so it's ok to make your own wine and beer in small batches for personal consumption but not sell it, but absolutely no private label Absolut ?

That's my understanding... but I could be wrong.

[Thinkin' Gal]

The incident has raised razed some eyebrows in the neighborhood.