The forgotten criminal dynasty that ruled Illinois before Capone even knew their names. Meet the Shelton brothers – Carl, Earl, and Bernie – three farm boys who transformed themselves into the most powerful bootleggers in southern Illinois during Prohibition and later controlled Peoria's entire vice scene.

When Prohibition turned alcohol illegal, the Sheltons built an empire of roadhouses, stills, and speakeasies across "Little Egypt" in southern Illinois. Their rivalry with former gang member Charlie Birger escalated into what can only be described as private warfare, complete with armored cars, machine guns, and even aerial bombings that left dozens dead. All while law enforcement conveniently looked the other way in exchange for what one sheriff called "a really nice Christmas bonus."

By the 1940s, the Shelton brothers had relocated to Peoria, transforming Illinois' second-largest city into what became known as a "Wide Open City." They established the Peoria Amusement Company, running hundreds of slot machines, gambling dens, and brothels while maintaining what they called "gangland peacekeeping." During World War II, with two military bases nearby, soldiers with paychecks made the Sheltons wealthier than ever.

The brothers survived assassination attempts from Chicago mobsters, maintained political connections that kept them untouchable, and brought a strange form of order to the criminal underworld. As one historian noted, "As long as the Sheltons were running things, you weren't getting robbed at random." But their empire couldn't last forever. Between 1947 and 1950, a mysterious assassination campaign eliminated all three brothers, with the killers never identified.

Discover the remarkable story of how three brothers built and lost an empire that rivaled Al Capone's, leaving behind a legacy that's been largely forgotten by history. If you enjoy untold stories of Prohibition gangsters, territorial wars, and mysterious unsolved assassinations, you won't want to miss this episode.

Tara McClellan McAndrew, NPR Illinois – "Booze, Blood And Bombs: Prohibition In Southern Illinois" (2020)nprillinois.orgnprillinois.org

Joel J. Hutchcroft, Shooting Times – "A Bloody Band of Bootleggers: The Shelton Brothers Gang" (2021)shootingtimes.comshootingtimes.com

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