NEWS ARTICLES
Dominic Tarro
Dominic Tarro was born January 26th 1892 in Ironwood Michigan. In 1905 the Tarro Family moved to Gillespie,IL.
Some time there after they relocated to the near by town of Benld. The town was built on the backs of the
under paid and over worked coal miners of Illinois. The miners, who worked for the coal companies were of Italian or
Eastern European origin. They formed their town around the coal company housing near the mines. Typical of the time
period the town had several small grocery stores and more taverns than churches. History has shown that where ever a
large group of men gather to work the vices of the world are soon to follow. Liquor, gambling and prostitution are always
at the top of that list and Benld specialized in all three. It was the adult entertainment center for the area. A hot craps
game or high stakes card came game could be found in the back rooms of just about every tavern. While the ladies of the
night worked on another floor in the building. Just prior to or shortly after the beginning of World War I (1914 to 1919)
Dominic and his brother Ben opened Tarro Brother’s Grocery. He served in the war while Ben ran the store. Upon his
return he continued in the family business and also opened a small roller skating rink downtown.

In a town where there is illegal activity and easy money you are sure to have organized crime. Benld was fortunate or
should I say unfortunate to have one of the best know gangster of the 1920’s running the rackets there. Al Capone and
his gang ruled the town with an iron fist. On January 16th 1919 the United States ratified the 18th Amendment to the
Constitution and the Volstead Act. The following year prohibition became the law of the land. This began the fall of the
large breweries such as the William J. Lemp and Co., of  Saint Louis and other liquor manufacturers of the era.
This was also the birth of the bootleg liquor business. Dominic had formed a relationship with the gangsters in town and
he soon became the head of the bootleg liquor racket in Macoupin County. He would purchase yeast and sugar for
distilling through the Tarro Brothers name. He would then distribute these supplies to the illegal liquor stills in Macoupin
and Montgomery Counties. One of the largest stills in the county was just east of town and was called the Number
5 Mine. The remoteness of the location and the gang’s grip on the area made it perfect for just such an operation.
Business was very profitable through out the decade.

The roller rink operated by Dominic burnt down at the beginning of 1924. So he and Ben decided to replace the roller
rink with a new building. This building became the Coliseum Ballroom. . In its day, the Coliseum had the biggest
dance floor (10,000 square feet) between Chicago and St. Louis. They hosted 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 along with the mega-stars of popular music from the 1920s and beyond. It was
situated along old Route 66 (now Illinois Route 4) on the western edge of Benld and was said to have attracted crowds
that sometimes topped 2,000, from all over central Illinois and metropolitan St. Louis.

An ill wind began to blow for Tarro when on 10/11/29 he was indicted by the Federal Courts in Springfield, IL. He
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 him, fifty plus
defendants and two national corporations. The indictments alleged that he was the distributor of illegal liquor making
supplies for the Macoupin and Montgomery County bootleggers. He would purchased 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 he had become a witness for the state and had turned his books over as evidence. On January
29th 1930 Tarro was arrested again on federal indictments. The same day he was released on an aggregated bond of
$30,500 and he began to drive home.

On January 30th 1930 Tarro’s partially burned and bullet ridden vehicle was found along a road near Mason City, IL.
He had disappeared and could not be found. February 10th 1930 was the arraignment date for Tarro and he did not
arrive for his court appearance. U.S. District Attorney Walter Provine contended that he 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 Petersburg, 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 Tarro’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 a bulge on one of his knees. District Attorney Provine still did not believe
that this was the body of 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 Tarro. District Attorney Provine still did not accept that this was the Body of Tarro and he continued his denial for
sometime. Provine held the bond for months and the IRS investigated the value of the estate left behind by 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 Dominic and even his daughter Joyce may still be around the Coliseum in
another form.

Article By: Daniel C. Mathis 03/15/2008