Benld and the Booze Gang: Mafia, Murder and Mayhem on Route 66 Paperback – March 20, 2026

The shocking true story of Mine No. 5, Al Capone's largest still.

They thought Prohibition would bring order. It brought an empire of blood and bootleg whiskey.

When federal law outlawed alcohol in 1920, Benld, Illinois was already a powder keg. A rough mining town filled with Italian immigrants, labor strikes, and simmering violence, it had the perfect ingredients for something far more dangerous than moonshine. Positioned between Chicago and St. Louis with rail connections and hard roads, this small Midwest town became the unlikely heart of one of the largest bootlegging operations in American history.

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