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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Jury convicts 2 in federal moonshine case

A federal jury in Roanoke has found a Franklin County man and a Pittsylvania County woman guilty on all counts in a moonshine trial that started more than a week ago.

Jody Alton Smith Sr. and Margaret Rigney Smith were convicted on charges including conspiracy to make moonshine, money laundering and perjury. Jody Smith was found guilty on 29 charges, Margaret Smith on 12.

Surveillance cameras set up by federal investigators showed Jody Smith at a Halifax County site where one of several buildings housed four 1,200-gallon pots used to make moonshine that was shipped as far as Philadelphia. His attorney countered that the property was also used as a hunt club, and said that the government had no evidence to place Smith in the same building as the stills.

Prosecutors said that Margaret Smith assisted Jody Smith by taking over the mortgages for the property from him. Her attorney told the jury that she never set foot on the site and was busy two counties away taking care of her dying mother and dealing with her own health problems.

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