Dominic Tarro was born in
Ironwood Michigan January 26, 1892. Dominic and his family moved to Gillespie,
IL in 1905 and later to Benld, IL. Dominic was veteran of WWI and started a
grocery/butcher shop with his brother Ben Tarro before the war and upon his
return he continued in that business.
Chicago Gangs, specifically the
Capone Gang operated the illegal gaming parlors and houses of prostitutions in
Benld. These were popular operations due to several area coal mines and the
large numbers of miners needed to work in those mines. Hard working miners
wanted a place to relax and relieve the stress from the long hours and dangerous
work. The members of the Capone Gang and the local business owners had no
problems relieving the miners of that hard earned cash in a good craps game or
with some time well spent with one of the working girls upstairs.
During
this time prohibition laws were passed. Prohibition was eleven years, 1922 to
1933. Prohibition brought down the large brewers in Saint Louis such as the Lemp
Family. Prohibition also open a lucrative new business, bootleg liquor. Benld’s
remote location, the Capone Gang’s grip on the town made it perfect to produce
that bootleg liquor. Dominic’s connections to the Capone Gang, his grocery
business to front the purchase of liquor making supplies put him in a position
to head the illegal liquor racket in and around Macoupin County, IL.
During this time Dominic owned a small roller skating rink in down town Benld.
The roller rink had burnt down and Dominic decided to build a new roller rink
and dancehall. This gave birth to the Coliseum Ballroom. In October of 1924
Dominic and his brother Ben opened the Coliseum Ballroom. In its heyday, the
Coliseum had the biggest dance floor (10,000 square feet) between Chicago and
St. Louis. The Coliseum had roller skating three or four days during the week
and on the weekend featured the orchestras of Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Kay
Kyser, Count Basie and most of the other big-name big bands - the megastars of
popular music from the 1920s into the 1940s.The Coliseum was situated along old
Route 66 (now Illinois Route 4) on the western edge of Benld. The Coliseum is
said to have attracted crowds that sometimes topped 2,000, from all over central
Illinois and metropolitan St. Louis.
Dominic ran the Coliseum and the
bootleg liquor rackets in Macoupin County through the roaring 1920’s into the
fall of 1929. An ill wind began to blow for Dominic when on 10/11/29 he was
indicted by the Federal Courts in Springfield, IL. Dominic posted $15,000 in
bond and was released on the original indictment. James Eaton Deputy Prohibition
Administrator out of Springfield and U.S. District Attorney Walter M. Provine
had put together further indictments against Dominic, fifty plus defendants and
two national corporations. The indictments alleged that Dominic Tarro was the
distributor of illegal liquor making supplies for the Macoupin County,
Montgomery County bootleggers. Dominic was purchasing Corn syrup specifically
designed for distilling from the Corn Products Refining Company and Yeast from
The Fleishmann Yeast Company. The rumor began to circulate that Dominic had
become a witness for the state and had turned his books over as evidence. On
January 29th 1930 Dominic Tarro was arrested again on federal indictments. The
same day Dominic was released on a total bond of $30,500 and he began to drive
home.
On January 30th 1930 Dominic’s partially burned and bullet ridden
vehicle was found along a road near Mason City, IL. Dominic had disappeared and
could not be found. February 10th 1930 was the arraignment for Dominic and he
did not arrive for his court appearance. U.S. District Attorney Walter Provine
contended that Dominic Tarro was still alive and may be in hiding. Attorney
Provine based this on the case of Albert Blewett a bootlegger whose body was
found in the Sangamon River near Petersberg, IL and was later arrested in
Wisconsin alive and well.
On May 2nd 1930 Robert Fox and Benny Spence
were rowing in the Sangamon River. Fox and Spence came upon a floating body.
Authorities were notified and the body was recovered. It was the body of a man
in a state of heavy decomposition. The body had wire bound around the hands and
feet. Another wire was wrapped around the neck of the man pulling his head to
his knees. The body did not have a lot of clothing left on it. This body was not
too far from the area that Dominic’s bullet ridden vehicle had been found in
January. Family members Mike Fazio and Ben Tarro were contacted in an attempt to
identify the body. The family members identified Tarro by cuff links, some of
the clothing left on the body, other marks on the body and bulge on one of his
knees. District Attorney Provine still did not believe that this was the body of
Dominic Tarro.
The body of Dominic Tarro was laid to rest on May, 6th
1930 in Mayfield Cemetery in Carlinville, IL. On May 14th 1930 a coroner’s
inquest was held and the coroner’s jury decided that the body found on May 2nd
1930 was that of Dominic Tarro. District Attorney Provine still did not accept
that this was the Body of Tarro and this continued his denial for sometime after
his burial. District Attorney Provine held the Bond for months and it even
turned into an IRS case in reference to the value of the estate left behind by
Dominic Tarro.
Beyond the gangs, the booze and the feds, Dominic Tarro’s
legacy lives on in the sleepy town of Benld to this day. The Coliseum still
stands and from what I hear from Dominic Tarro and even his daughter Joyce Tarro
may still be around the Coliseum in another form.
Written and contributed 2015 by Danny Mathis
L. Robert Fox and Benny Spence on Friday, while rowing in the Sangamon river near Springfield, found the body of a man floating in the water, which has since been identified as the body of Dominic Tarro of Benld, who disappeared some time ago. Tarro, it will be recalled, was indicted in the federal court on a charge of being implicated in a liquor ring operating in Macoupin county and mysteriously disappeared shortly after, his burned automobile being found on a highway north of Springfield. Following the finding of the body, relatives of Tarro were summoned to Springfield and the body was positively identified by his brothers and other intimate acquaintances. Marks on the body, the cuff links and parts of the clothing were positively identified as belonging to Tarro. The body had been bound hand and foot with wire and a strand of wire was also placed around the neck so as to draw the head down to the knees. Funeral services were held on Tuesday at Benld, interment being at the Mayfield Memorial cemetery at Carlinville. While relatives have been willing to accept the body found in the river as that of Tarro, it is said that the government desires further proof and it is probable that the matter will produce considerable argument at the June term of the federal court.
Still doubting that the body of a man, found bound with bailing wire and floating on the Sangamon river near Springfield is that of Dominic Tarro, alleged bootlegger of Benld, federal authorities have adopted a policy of watchful waiting, confident from past experiences that Tarro will show up eventually. Tarro, indicted as the alleged agent for "big business" in the distribution of yeast and corn syrup among Benld bootleggers, was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to violate the national phohibition law in January. He's claimed to have handled the distribution of products of two companies and his books were expected to aid the government in the trial of the two concerns and nearly two score individuals, all indicted on charges of conspiring to violate the dry law. Soon after his arrest, Tarro was freed on bonds aggregating $30,500 and disappeared. Last month a decomposed body was found floating in the river. An inquest was held and a coroner's jury decided the body was that of Dominic Tarro after friends and relatives identified it as such. The relatives say he was kidnaped by enemies and thrown into the river alive. The government's refusal to accept the identification was disclosed when it refused to agree to a motion to set aside a court order forfeiting Tarro's bond of $30,500. It is contended by United States District Attorney Walter M. Provine that Tarro is alive and will turn up eventually. Government agents are investigating a theory that he went into hiding to escape threats of being "given a ride." Provine has had experience with 'dead" men before. He points specifically to the case of Albert Blewett, alleged bootlegger and rum runner recently captured several months after his 'body' had been found floating in the Sangamon river near Petersburg. Blewett was arrested in Wixconsin and is awaiting trial in federal court.
Frank Contratto of Benld, who has been missing from his home since Saturday, on Tuesday was found at Belleville, where he was wandering around in a dazed condition. It is thought that Contratto is mentally deranged. When he first disappeared it was feared that he had met with foul play as he was a business associate of Dominic Tarro, also of Benld, who disappeared several months ago and whose body is believed to have been found in the Sangamon river near Springfield.
The United States Board of Tax Appeals at Washington, D. C., has handed down a decision declaring Dominic Tarro of Benld dead. The decision was the first government admission of Tarro's death. Identification of the body found in the Sangamon river a year ago as Tarro was not satisfactory the government had contended, until this decision. He is believed to have been done away with by associate who feared he would talk. The government had a tax lien of 963,626 against the Tarro estate for alleged delinquent income taxes during 1927, 1928, and 1929.
Newpaper extractions contributed 2015 by Cindy Leonard
Macoupin County ILGenWeb Copyright
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