The Dixie Mafia in Georgia: A Comprehensive History

Focus on North and Northeast Georgia Operations (1940s-1980s)

INTRODUCTION

The Dixie Mafia’s Georgia operations represent one of the darkest chapters in the state’s criminal history. Unlike the structured Italian-American Mafia, the Dixie Mafia was a loose confederation of criminals united by a common goal: making money through any means necessary. The Georgia branch, centered in the rural counties northeast of Atlanta, became one of the most violent and prolific operations within this Southern criminal network, leaving a trail of death and devastation that would take decades to fully unravel.

PART I: ORIGINS AND RISE (1940s-1960s)

The Moonshine Foundation

The Georgia Dixie Mafia’s roots lay deep in the state’s moonshine culture. North Georgia’s mountainous terrain and Scots-Irish heritage created ideal conditions for illegal whiskey production that dated back to the 18th century. After the Civil War, when the federal government imposed a luxury tax on alcohol, many small farmers in counties like Barrow, Walton, Jackson, Hall, and Oconee refused to pay, continuing to operate their stills under cover of darkness—hence the term “moonshine.”

By the 1940s and 1950s, moonshining had evolved from a subsistence activity into a sophisticated criminal enterprise. The industry required not just distillers, but also haulers with fast cars and the driving skills to outrun federal “revenuers.” It was in this environment that Billy Sunday Birt—who would become Georgia’s most notorious criminal—learned his trade.

Billy Sunday Birt: Early Years

Born in 1937 or 1938 into extreme poverty in Barrow County near Winder, Georgia, Billy Sunday Birt was named by his mother after the famous evangelist Billy Sunday. The irony of this naming would become apparent as Birt’s life took a dramatically different path than his namesake.

Birt grew up in the hardscrabble world of southern Appalachia, rarely attending school regularly. He worked in sawmills and construction before finding his calling as a whiskey hauler. According to family accounts, Birt became “the best whiskey hauler there ever was,” using souped-up cars to transport moonshine from hidden stills to distribution points throughout North Georgia. His skills were so renowned that he was posthumously inducted into the Moonshine Hall of Fame at Dawsonville’s Mountain Moonshine Festival in 2023.

The Transition to Organized Crime

The moonshine business in North Georgia began changing in the 1960s as counties started going “wet” (allowing legal alcohol sales). This threatened the livelihood of bootleggers and moonshiners, forcing them to diversify into other criminal activities. What began as whiskey running evolved into:

Bank robberies
Car theft and stripping operations
Insurance fraud
Drug trafficking (particularly “black beauties” – amphetamines)
Contract killings
Extortion and intimidation

Multiple criminal gangs operated in North Georgia during this period, including the Allen gang (led by A.D. Allen, who ran a widespread car theft ring) and the Park gang (led by Cliff Park, a farmer, bootlegger, and money lender). While Birt may have done occasional work with these groups, his organization remained largely independent.

PART II: THE ERA OF TERROR (1967-1975)

Organizational Structure

The Georgia Dixie Mafia, like its counterparts elsewhere in the South, operated without a formal hierarchical structure. Billy Sunday Birt emerged as the de facto leader, but the organization functioned more as a network of associates who came together for specific jobs. Key members included:

Core Leadership:

Billy Sunday Birt – Primary enforcer and contract killer
Billy Wayne Davis – Strategic planner and organizer, operated car dealerships in Douglas and Cobb counties as fronts
Bobby Gene Gaddis – Enforcer and killer
Charles David Reed – Enforcer and killer

Associates:

Harold Chancey – Moonshine still operator
Donald Chancey – Small-time bootlegger (later murdered by Birt)
Larry Bethune – Operated body shop in Austell
Fred Cooper and Otis Roger Fortner – Bootleggers (indicted in 1971 federal liquor conspiracy)
Daniel Warren – Safe-cracker
Willie Hester – Gang member
Charles Martin – Associate (found dead in Barrow County)

Despite the loose structure, the organization operated under one inviolable rule: “Thou shall not snitch to the cops.” Violation of this code meant death, and the Dixie Mafia became notorious for murdering members who testified or threatened to testify against fellow criminals.

Criminal Operations Base

The Georgia Dixie Mafia operated primarily from Winder in Barrow County, with influence extending throughout:

Barrow County
Walton County
Jackson County
Oconee County
Hall County
Gwinnett County
Portions of other Northeast Georgia counties

Winder served as the nerve center, with Birt controlling much of the region through fear and violence. The group used legitimate businesses as fronts, including:

Car dealerships
Body shops
Antique stores
Junk and salvage operations

Major Crimes and Incidents

The Hoard Murder (1967)

One of the most brazen attacks connected to the Dixie Mafia network was the assassination of Jackson County Solicitor General Floyd Hoard. On August 7, 1967, when Hoard turned the ignition of his car, ten sticks of dynamite exploded, killing him instantly. Cliff Park was later convicted of hiring assassins to commit the murder. This killing demonstrated the organization’s willingness to eliminate anyone who threatened their operations, including law enforcement and prosecutors.

The Durham Family Murders (1972)

On February 3, 1972, during a snowstorm in Boone, North Carolina, Bryce Durham (51), his wife Virginia (44), and their 18-year-old son Bobby were found strangled to death in their home. This contract killing remained unsolved for nearly 50 years until a breakthrough came in 2019.

According to later confessions, Billy Sunday Birt, Billy Wayne Davis, Bobby Gene Gaddis, and Charles David Reed were responsible. Davis claimed to have acted only as the getaway driver while the other three entered the house. The motive for the killings remains unclear—it appears to have been a murder-for-hire, though who solicited the crime was never definitively established.

The Fleming Murders (1973)

In 1973, Lois and Reed Oliver Fleming, an elderly couple in Wrens, Georgia, were tortured and murdered in their home. The brutality of this crime was particularly shocking—photographs shown during Birt’s trial depicted the horror of the scene, including images that haunted witnesses for years. Birt was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death for these murders, though the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

The Matthews Murders and the Marietta Seven (1971)

Perhaps the most significant case involving the Georgia Dixie Mafia was the murder of Warren and Rosina Matthews, two prominent physicians in Marietta, on May 7, 1971. The couple was shot to death in their home during what appeared to be a robbery.

In July 1972, a woman named Deborah Ann Kidd, who was in custody in South Carolina on unrelated charges, told authorities she had information about the Matthews murders. Promised immunity, she implicated ten people, including herself, claiming they had committed the murders during a drug- and alcohol-fueled robbery.

Seven men were prosecuted in what became known as the “Marietta Seven” case:

James Creamer (sentenced to death)
George Emmett (life sentence)
Larry Hacker (life sentence)
Bill Jenkins (life sentence)
Hoyt Powell (life sentence)
Charles Roberts (life sentence)
Wayne Ruff (life sentence)

The problem was that none of them were actually guilty.

The Wrongful Convictions:

Kidd’s testimony, recovered partially through hypnosis, was the primary evidence against the defendants. However, her accounts were inconsistent between trials and contradicted known facts. Investigative reporters from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, along with appellate attorneys, uncovered suppressed exculpatory evidence:

Kidd had given multiple contradictory versions of events before trial
She had stayed at the home of a police detective and had a sexual relationship with him
She was actually in Greenville, South Carolina, on the day of the murders
A bullet surgically removed from James Creamer’s body (which Kidd claimed came from one of the victims) did not match any bullets from the crime scene

In June 1975, Federal District Judge Charles Moye overturned the convictions of Emmett and Creamer. In August 1975, Kidd admitted she had lied in her testimony. On September 2, 1975, Cobb County District Attorney George “Buddy” Darden dropped all charges against the Marietta Seven.

The Real Killers:

Shortly after the convictions were overturned, Billy Sunday Birt, already on death row, contacted Cobb County authorities and confessed that he, Billy Wayne Davis, and Willie Hester had actually killed the Matthews couple. In January 1976, Birt and Davis were charged with the murders, but a grand jury failed to indict them. In June 1979, a different grand jury indicted Davis for the Matthews murders.

Birt later made a dramatic phone call from the courthouse to attorney Bobby Lee Cook, who had represented the Marietta Seven. Cook asked Birt two questions that only the real killer would know, and Birt answered both correctly, confirming his involvement.

The Chancey Murder (1972)

Donald Chancey, a small-time bootlegger from Winder, was murdered in 1972. Birt killed Chancey when he suspected him of talking to federal authorities. The body was hidden along Chicken Lyle Road in Barrow County. Birt was convicted of this murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1980.

Bank Robberies

The gang committed numerous bank robberies throughout North Georgia. Birt was convicted of robbing the National Bank of Walton County in Loganville, among others. These robberies provided quick cash to fund operations and were carried out with military-style precision.

Bombings and Arsons

Birt became proficient with explosives, reportedly stealing dynamite from a rock quarry near Buford. He used bombs to:

Eliminate competition in the moonshine and drug trade
Destroy evidence
Intimidate witnesses and rivals
Kill targets in their homes without warning

The use of dynamite allowed Birt to kill multiple people simultaneously and destroy evidence, making investigations more difficult.

The Reign of Terror

Between 1967 and 1975, the Georgia Dixie Mafia controlled much of Northeast Georgia through systematic violence and intimidation. Billy Sunday Birt earned the reputation as “the most dangerous man in Georgia history” from law enforcement officials.

Former GBI Inspector Bob Ingram, who led the investigation that ultimately captured Birt, stated: “Billy Birt was, without a doubt, one of the most prolific killers in the history of our country.”

The exact number of Birt’s victims remains uncertain. Conservative estimates suggest he killed 52-56 people, though some accounts claim the number could be much higher. Birt himself, before his death, hinted that his body count exceeded even these estimates. Ingram has definitively linked Birt to over 30 different murders.

Victims included:

Criminal associates who became security risks
Competing bootleggers and drug dealers
Witnesses or potential witnesses
People who offended or crossed Birt
Contract killing targets
Innocent bystanders caught in violence

According to family accounts, Birt was “quick to take offense at what people did or said to him,” and violence was his immediate response to perceived slights or threats.

PART III: THE DOWNFALL (1975-1980)

Law Enforcement Response

Throughout the early 1970s, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies struggled to build cases against the Dixie Mafia. The organization’s code of silence, combined with witness intimidation and the murder of potential informants, made prosecutions extremely difficult.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, led by Inspector Bob Ingram, eventually coordinated a multi-agency effort to dismantle the organization. Federal authorities also became involved through:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

In 1971, Fred Cooper and Otis Roger Fortner were indicted in a federal liquor conspiracy case, beginning the unraveling of the organization.

The Collapse

Several factors led to the organization’s collapse:

Internal Betrayals: As pressure mounted, members began turning on each other. Birt’s willingness to kill anyone he suspected of cooperation with authorities created paranoia within the group.
Murder Convictions: Key members were convicted and imprisoned for various murders, removing them from the streets.
Federal Prosecutions: Federal charges for liquor violations, bank robbery, and other crimes carried severe sentences.
Changed Economic Landscape: The decline of moonshining and the professionalization of drug trafficking marginalized the old guard.

By the late 1970s, most members were either in prison, dead, or had fled the area. The organization effectively dissolved, ending nearly two decades of terror in rural Georgia.

Birt’s Capture and Conviction

Billy Sunday Birt’s legal troubles culminated in multiple convictions:

1973: Convicted for the Fleming murders, sentenced to death
1980: Death sentence overturned on appeal and commuted to life imprisonment
1980: Convicted of murdering Donald Chancey, received life sentence

Birt spent the remainder of his life in Georgia prisons, including time on death row and eventually in general population after his death sentence was commuted.

PART IV: LIFE IN PRISON AND REDEMPTION (1975-2017)

The Man Behind the Monster

Billy Sunday Birt was described by his wife Ruby Nell as “two people in one”—a hardened killer who was known to buy groceries for the elderly and give money to needy children. His son Stoney Birt remembered him performing miraculous physical feats, like balancing on the wire stretched across Tallulah Gorge, and telling bedtime stories about Jack and the Beanstalk one night, then about “blowing up an insurance office” the next.

However, his youngest son, Shane Birt, offered a darker perspective: “Stoney’s description of Billy Birt’s moonshine-running life makes it seem like a fun episode from ‘The Dukes of Hazzard.’ It wasn’t. He was evil.”

Violence in Prison

Prison life was not safe for Birt. In 1983, he was stabbed ten times by a fellow inmate, losing his left eye in the attack. This brush with mortality may have contributed to his eventual spiritual transformation.

An Unlikely Friendship

One of the most remarkable stories from Birt’s life involves Douglas County Sheriff Earl D. Lee. According to accounts from Birt’s family, Birt had once been contracted to kill Sheriff Lee and had even positioned himself with a shotgun to ambush Lee as he left church on a Sunday. However, Birt had second thoughts and didn’t pull the trigger.

Despite this history, Lee and Birt developed an unlikely friendship over the years. Sheriff Lee, described as “a Christian first and foremost,” would arrange to have Birt released into his custody under the pretense of questioning, allowing Birt to spend time with his family at the local jail. Such arrangements were possible under the authority county sheriffs held at that time.

Religious Conversion

Around 1990, Birt received a letter from Dr. Charles Bryant Skelton, a family practitioner in Winder and member of Gideons International. Skelton’s letter explained the gospel and assured Birt that God was willing to forgive even the gravest sins, citing examples from biblical history.

Birt initially responded with skepticism: “Thanks for taking the time to write me. That was the most beautiful letter, and you made so much sense. You wrote it so such a fool like myself can understand what you mean.”

According to Phil Hudgins, who later co-authored a book about Birt with his wife Ruby Nell, Birt began reading the Bible, at first trying to prove Skelton wrong. “He couldn’t believe that God could forgive a man like him,” Hudgins wrote. “Surely Doc was wrong. God cannot — does not — forgive mass murderers.”

However, Birt’s study of scripture led him to a different conclusion. As Hudgins noted: “In the end, however, the Bible proved Doc right. God can forgive even the vilest offender, even a murderer. No one is beyond redemption through Christ, not even Billy Sunday Birt.”

The Baptism

In 1992, nearly 20 years after his conviction, Sheriff Earl Lee secured a court order to release Birt into his custody. Lee took Birt, unshackled, to a church in Winder during a Sunday evening Homecoming service. There, before his family, Birt was baptized by his son, Billy Montana Birt.

Sheriff Lee cried as he spoke at the baptism—the same man Birt had once been paid to kill was now instrumental in his spiritual redemption. Federal laws were later changed to prevent such releases, making Birt’s baptism one of the last of its kind.

According to family members, during his final years, the first thing Birt wanted to do when they visited was “join hands and pray. Before we left, [we would] join hands and pray.”

Death

Billy Sunday Birt died in prison in 2017 at approximately 79 or 80 years old, still serving his life sentences. He had been one of the few death row inmates in Georgia to have his sentence converted to life imprisonment and spent his final years in general population.

His sons Stoney and Shane spent two weeks digging his grave. Shortly after his death, Stoney and his son Stone established Rock Solid Distillery, a legal moonshine operation honoring Billy Birt’s legacy as a master whiskey maker while acknowledging the darker aspects of his past.

PART V: THE VICTIMS AND LASTING IMPACT

Ruby Nell Birt: The Forgotten Victim

Ruby Nell Lee married Billy Birt when she was only 12 years old. She bore him five children—two daughters and three sons, each boy named Billy at their father’s insistence. When Billy went to prison, Ruby was thrown into a world she didn’t know, left with five children and $30.

Ruby worked tirelessly to support her family:

Earned her GED
Drove a school bus
Baked and sold cakes
Waitressed
Cleaned houses
Lived in public housing
Sewed for others, including making lingerie for her husband’s mistresses
Eventually saved enough money to build chicken houses

She was elected a PTA officer and dedicated herself to her children. Through the trial, she endured seeing graphic photographs of crime scenes, including images of the Fleming victims that haunted her for decades. “I could shut my eyes and see them. I wish I never seen them,” she said.

Her constant prayer: “Don’t let those genes get in my sons. That has been my main fear of all this, my main fear.”

Despite everything, Ruby stood by Billy, taking her children to visit him in various prisons. She eventually divorced him but maintained contact. After nearly 50 years of living under the shadow of her husband’s crimes, she finally felt free following his death. “I can say for the first time in 50 years, I feel free,” she said.

Ruby co-authored “Grace and Disgrace” with journalist Phil Hudgins, telling her story as the wife of Georgia’s deadliest killer.

The Children

Billy Sunday Birt’s sons have taken different paths in coming to terms with their father’s legacy:

Billy Stonewall “Stoney” Birt remembers his father as a complicated figure—a gangster who was also a great father and the fastest moonshine driver in North Georgia. He witnessed both the glamour and horror of the criminal life, including watching his father dig a bullet out of Willie Hester’s shoulder after a shootout. Stoney has worked to preserve his father’s legacy through Rock Solid Distillery and by participating in podcasts and interviews about the Dixie Mafia.

Billy Shenandoah “Shane” Birt offers a more critical perspective, characterizing his father as simply “evil.” He has worked with investigators to solve cold cases linked to his father, including providing crucial information that helped solve the 1972 Durham family murders in North Carolina nearly 50 years after they occurred. Shane has been instrumental in bringing closure to families of victims.

The Wrongfully Convicted

The Marietta Seven spent years in prison for murders they didn’t commit:

James Creamer faced execution
Six others served time for life sentences
Families were torn apart
Lives and reputations were destroyed

While they were eventually exonerated, the years lost can never be recovered. The case stands as a stark reminder of the dangers of prosecutions based primarily on unreliable witness testimony and the importance of thorough investigation.

Unsolved Murders

Many murders attributed to Billy Sunday Birt and the Georgia Dixie Mafia remain officially unsolved. Bodies were hidden in remote locations throughout North Georgia:

Donald Chancey’s body was found along Chicken Lyle Road
Otis Reidling was buried near the Mulberry River
Charles Martin was found in a Barrow County grave
Willie Hester disappeared and was found dead years later

Numerous other victims were likely never found. Bob Ingram continues to work on linking Birt to additional murders, and Shane Birt has assisted law enforcement in identifying possible burial sites and solving cold cases.

PART VI: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE

The Broader Dixie Mafia Network

The Georgia operations were part of a larger Dixie Mafia network that operated across the South from the 1960s through the 1980s. While based primarily in Biloxi, Mississippi, the organization had branches throughout:

Texas
Louisiana
Arkansas
Georgia
Mississippi
Alabama

Each regional operation functioned semi-independently, though members sometimes cooperated across state lines. The Georgia branch, centered in Barrow County, developed its own character shaped by North Georgia’s moonshine culture and rural isolation.

Notable differences from other regions:

Greater emphasis on moonshine and bootlegging
More rural, less connection to gambling operations
Particularly high levels of violence
Stronger territorial control over specific counties

Connection to NASCAR and American Culture

The moonshine culture that spawned the Dixie Mafia also gave birth to NASCAR. The souped-up cars and driving skills developed to outrun revenuers directly led to organized stock car racing. Billy Birt’s skills as a moonshine runner placed him in this tradition, and his 2023 induction into the Moonshine Hall of Fame as “Best Moonshine Driver” acknowledges this cultural connection.

The romanticization of moonshine running in popular culture (films like “Thunder Road,” TV shows like “The Dukes of Hazzard”) stands in stark contrast to the brutal reality of the violence that accompanied organized bootlegging operations.

Law Enforcement Evolution

The Dixie Mafia’s operations in Georgia forced law enforcement to evolve:

Multi-Agency Cooperation: Local, state, and federal agencies learned to coordinate investigations
Witness Protection: The gang’s willingness to kill witnesses led to improvements in witness protection programs
Forensic Science: The need to build cases without witness testimony drove advances in forensic investigation
Organized Crime Understanding: The Dixie Mafia’s loose structure challenged traditional organized crime prosecution strategies

Bob Ingram’s work in bringing down the Georgia Dixie Mafia became a template for investigating loosely organized criminal networks. He has continued to share his expertise, teaching criminal justice at Truett McConnell University and presenting at public programs about the case.

Economic and Social Impact

The Dixie Mafia’s reign of terror had profound effects on North Georgia communities:

Economic Impact:

Legitimate businesses were muscled out or forced to pay protection
Property values declined in areas known for violence
Tourism and economic development were hindered
Counties spent significant resources on law enforcement and prosecution

Social Impact:

Communities lived in fear, afraid to cooperate with law enforcement
Trust in institutions was eroded
Families were destroyed by violence and incarceration
The stigma of association with the Dixie Mafia lingered for decades

Transition Period

The dissolution of the Georgia Dixie Mafia in the late 1970s coincided with broader changes in Southern rural crime:

Professional drug trafficking organizations replaced loose networks
The decline of moonshining as counties went wet
Improved law enforcement coordination
Federal RICO statutes provided new prosecution tools
Economic development brought more law enforcement resources to rural areas

PART VII: MODERN LEGACY AND CULTURAL MEMORY

Renewed Interest

In recent years, the story of the Georgia Dixie Mafia has experienced renewed public interest through multiple media:

Podcasts:

“In the Red Clay” (2021) – A 12-13 episode series produced by Sean Kipe with Imperative Entertainment, featuring extensive interviews with Stoney Birt and including rare recordings of Billy Sunday Birt himself. The podcast took 18 months to complete and was Kipe’s first major production.

Books:

“Grace and Disgrace” by Ruby Nell Birt with Phil Hudgins – Ruby’s account of life married to Georgia’s deadliest killer
“Rock Solid: The True Story of Georgia’s Dixie Mafia” – Various accounts and documentation
“A Conspiracy of Silence” by Mike Buffington – About the Floyd Hoard murder
“Alone Among the Living” by Rev. Richard Hoard – Personal account of the Hoard murder by the victim’s son
“North Georgia Moonshine: A History of the Lovells & Other Liquor Makers” by Judith Hill Garrison – Context on the moonshine culture

Academic and Law Enforcement:

Bob Ingram’s presentations at libraries and historical societies
Course material at criminal justice programs
Cold case investigations continue

Cold Case Resolutions

The cooperation of Billy Birt’s family, particularly Shane Birt, has led to resolution of decades-old cases:

Durham Family Murders (Solved 2019): After 47 years, information provided by Shane Birt during research for a book led to solving the triple murder in Boone, North Carolina. Billy Wayne Davis, then 81 and serving a life sentence in Augusta, Georgia, confessed to his role as getaway driver, implicating Birt, Gaddis, and Reed as the killers.

Ongoing Investigations: Shane Birt and investigator Bob have continued working together to solve other cold cases in the region. Their collaboration has provided closure to families and justice for forgotten victims.

Rock Solid Distillery

In a unique twist on legacy, Stoney Birt and his son Stone established Rock Solid Distillery after Billy Birt’s death. The legal moonshine operation honors the family’s whiskey-making heritage while acknowledging its dark past. Products include moonshine made with recipes passed down through generations, celebrating the craft while distancing from the violence.

“Because we made the best whiskey there ever was. Bar none,” Stoney explained when asked why he chose to honor his father through whiskey.

Historical Tourism

The story of the Georgia Dixie Mafia has become part of the region’s historical narrative:

Georgia Racing Hall of Fame connections to moonshine running
Dawsonville’s annual Mountain Moonshine Festival
Historical society presentations
Local museum exhibits

Cultural Reflection

The Dixie Mafia story raises important questions about:

The romanticization of criminal activity in Southern culture
Economic desperation and crime
The thin line between folk hero and monster
Redemption and forgiveness
The long-term impact of violence on communities
The complexity of human nature

CONCLUSION

The Georgia Dixie Mafia, centered in the counties of North and Northeast Georgia, operated for nearly two decades as one of the most violent criminal organizations in the state’s history. Led by Billy Sunday Birt—arguably Georgia’s most prolific killer—the organization emerged from moonshine culture and evolved into a multifaceted criminal enterprise engaging in murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and systematic intimidation.

The true scope of the organization’s violence may never be fully known. Conservative estimates place Billy Birt’s personal body count at 52-56 victims, though the actual number could be significantly higher. When combined with murders committed by other members, the Georgia Dixie Mafia likely killed well over 100 people during its peak years.

The organization’s collapse in the late 1970s came through persistent law enforcement efforts, internal betrayals, and the changing economic landscape of rural Georgia. Most members either went to prison, were killed, or fled the area. The social and economic scars left on North Georgia communities took decades to heal.

Perhaps most remarkably, the story doesn’t end with violence. Billy Sunday Birt’s religious conversion and baptism in 1992 offers a complex narrative about redemption, though it can never undo the harm caused. His family’s efforts to both preserve and contextualize his legacy—through legal distilleries, podcasts, and cooperation with investigators—demonstrate the ongoing struggle to make meaning from tragedy.

The wrongful conviction and eventual exoneration of the Marietta Seven serves as a cautionary tale about the justice system and the dangers of prosecutions built on unreliable testimony. The cold case resolutions achieved decades later, partly through cooperation from Birt’s family, have brought some measure of closure to victims’ families.

Today, the story of the Georgia Dixie Mafia remains a powerful reminder of a darker time in the state’s history—a period when fear ruled rural communities and violence seemed to have no bounds. It stands as testimony to the persistence of law enforcement, the resilience of families torn apart by crime, and the complex nature of human beings capable of both extraordinary evil and, possibly, redemption.

As Ruby Nell Birt stated after finally feeling free from the shadow of her husband’s crimes after 50 years: The story is not just about the criminals, but about the survivors—those who lived through the terror, those who brought the organization down, and those who continue to seek justice for forgotten victims.

APPENDICES

Key Figures Summary

Primary Members:

Billy Sunday Birt (1937/1938-2017) – Leader, enforcer, “most dangerous man in Georgia history”
Billy Wayne Davis (b. ~1941) – Strategic planner, currently serving life in Augusta, Georgia
Bobby Gene Gaddis – Enforcer
Charles David Reed – Enforcer
Willie Hester – Gang member
Harold Chancey – Moonshine operator
Donald Chancey – Bootlegger (murdered 1972)
Larry Bethune – Body shop operator
Fred Cooper – Bootlegger
Otis Roger Fortner – Bootlegger
Daniel Warren – Safe-cracker
Cliff Park – Bootlegger, ordered assassination of Floyd Hoard
Ambry DeWitt Allen Jr. – Car thief and kidnapper

Wrongfully Convicted (Marietta Seven):

James Creamer
George Emmett
Larry Hacker
Bill Jenkins
Hoyt Powell
Charles Roberts
Wayne Ruff

Law Enforcement:

Bob Ingram – GBI Inspector who led investigation
Sheriff Earl D. Lee – Douglas County Sheriff who befriended Birt

Victims (Partial List):

Floyd Hoard – Jackson County Solicitor General (1967)
Bryce Durham, Virginia Durham, Bobby Durham – North Carolina (1972)
Donald Chancey – Barrow County (1972)
Lois Fleming, Reed Oliver Fleming – Wrens, Georgia (1973)
Warren Matthews, Rosina Matthews – Marietta (1971)
Numerous unidentified victims

Geographic Scope

Primary Area of Operations:

Barrow County (especially Winder)
Walton County
Jackson County
Oconee County
Hall County
Gwinnett County

Extended Operations:

Douglas County
Cobb County
Various other North Georgia counties
Cross-border operations into North Carolina and other states

Timeline of Major Events

1940s-1950s: Moonshine culture thrives in North Georgia
1937/1938: Billy Sunday Birt born in Barrow County
1950s-1960s: Birt becomes premier moonshine hauler
1960s: Transition from moonshining to broader criminal activities
1967: Floyd Hoard murdered in Jackson County
1971: Matthews murders in Marietta
1971: Federal liquor conspiracy indictments
1972: Durham family murders in North Carolina
1972: Donald Chancey murdered
1972-1975: Marietta Seven wrongly convicted
1973: Fleming murders in Wrens
1973-1975: Peak of Georgia Dixie Mafia violence
1975: Marietta Seven exonerated; Birt confesses
Late 1970s: Organization dissolves
1980: Birt’s death sentence commuted to life
1983: Birt stabbed in prison, loses eye
1990: Birt receives letter from Dr. Skelton
1992: Birt baptized
2017: Billy Sunday Birt dies in prison
2019: Durham murders solved
2021: “In the Red Clay” podcast released
2023: Birt inducted into Moonshine Hall of Fame

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

Primary Sources

Court Records
- Georgia Supreme Court Cases involving Billy Sunday Birt (1990)
- Marietta Seven case files, Cobb County
- National Registry of Exonerations – Marietta Seven cases
- Federal liquor conspiracy indictments (1971)
Government Documents
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation files
- FBI reports on Dixie Mafia operations
- ATF investigation records

Books

Birt, Ruby Nell, with Phil Hudgins. Grace and Disgrace. Available at chartebooks.com, Amazon, and philhudgins.com
Buffington, Mike. A Conspiracy of Silence. (Floyd Hoard murder)
Hoard, Rev. Richard. Alone Among the Living. (Floyd Hoard murder, personal account)
Garrison, Judith Hill. North Georgia Moonshine: A History of the Lovells & Other Liquor Makers. The History Press, 2016.
Humes, Edward. Mississippi Mud. Simon & Schuster, 1994. (Broader Dixie Mafia context)

Podcasts

“In the Red Clay” – Produced by Sean Kipe with Imperative Entertainment (2021)
- 12-13 episode series
- Features Stoney Birt and rare Billy Sunday Birt recordings
- Available on major podcast platforms

News Articles and Features

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- “Billy Sunday Birt, Georgia’s deadliest killer, left behind a family divided” (June 21, 2022)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives
- Various articles from 1970s coverage
Queen City News
- “Blue Ridge Runs Red: Growing up with the deadliest man in the Southeast” (August 19, 2023)
- https://www.qcnews.com/blue-ridge-runs-red-growing-up-with-the-deadliest-man-in-the-southeast/
ABC News
- “Triple murder solved after 50 years with clue from suspect’s son, authorities say” (February 10, 2022)
- https://abcnews.go.com/US/triple-murder-solved-50-years-clue-suspects-son/story?id=82777778
AllOnGeorgia
- “New Podcast Tells the Stories of the Dixie Mafia” (July 9, 2021)
- https://allongeorgia.com/chattooga-local-news/new-podcast-tells-the-stories-of-the-dixie-mafia/
13WMAZ
- “Son of Dixie Mafia hit man and a popular podcast host set to take over Johnson County”
- https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/son-of-dixie-mafia-hit-man-podcast-host-johnson-county-event-sean-kipe-in-the-red-clay-billy-sunday-birt/
Gwinnett Forum
- “BRACK: Book recounts criminal life of Dixie Mafia’s Billy Birt”
- https://www.gwinnettforum.com/2023/04/brack-book-recounts-criminal-life-of-dixie-mafias-billy-birt/
Jackson Progress-Argus
- “Billy Stonewall Birt to speak at Butts County Historical Society’s October meeting”
- https://www.jacksonprogress-argus.com/news/billy-stonewall-birt-to-speak-at-butts-county-historical-society-s-october-meeting/
The Baptist Paper
- “New book tells story of mafia leader with same name as famous evangelist Billy Sunday” (June 26, 2023)
- https://thebaptistpaper.org/new-book-tells-story-of-mafia-leader-with-same-name-as-famous-evangelist-billy-sunday/

Academic and Reference Sources

New Georgia Encyclopedia
- “Moonshine” article (April 14, 2021)
- https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/moonshine/
Wikipedia
- “Dixie Mafia”
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Mafia
- “Marietta Seven”
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marietta_Seven
National Registry of Exonerations
- Case files for all seven wrongfully convicted men
- https://exonerationregistry.org
Digital Library of Georgia
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives
- Billy Sunday Birt photographs and documents
- https://dlg.usg.edu

Museums and Historical Societies

Forsyth County Public Library – Hosts presentations on Dixie Mafia history
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame – Dawsonville (moonshine running connections)
Butts County Historical Society – Presentations on Billy Sunday Birt
Various North Georgia Historical Societies – Local history programs

Online Resources

True Crime Archives
- “Billy Sunday Birt: Georgia’s Dixie Mafia Hitman?”
- https://truecrimearchives.blog/billy-sunday-birt-dixie-mafia-killers-reign-of-terror/
Wickedness.net
- “Billy Sunday Birt – The deadliest man in Georgia’s history”
- https://wickedness.net/murders/billy-sunday-birt/
Rock Solid Distillery
- Facebook page: Rock Solid, The True Story of Georgia’s Dixie Mafia
- Information about Billy Sunday Birt’s legacy and legal whiskey operations

Documentaries and Media

Various local news features on Georgia PBS and local stations
Historical society presentations (available on some library websites)
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame exhibits

Law Enforcement Contacts

For those researching cold cases or seeking information:

Bob Ingram – Retired GBI Inspector, now teaches at Truett McConnell University
Various Georgia historical law enforcement archives
GBI Cold Case Unit

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This history was compiled from multiple sources including news articles, books, podcasts, court records, and academic sources. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, some details remain disputed or unclear due to the passage of time and the clandestine nature of the organization. Numbers of victims, exact dates of some crimes, and motivations for certain acts remain subjects of ongoing investigation and debate.

The story of the Georgia Dixie Mafia is ultimately a human story—of criminals and victims, of law enforcement and justice, of families torn apart and communities living in fear, and of the complex question of redemption. It serves as a reminder of a darker period in Georgia history while honoring those who worked to bring the organization down and those who continue to seek justice for forgotten victims.

Special recognition goes to the law enforcement officers who risked their lives to dismantle this organization, the journalists who exposed corruption and wrongful convictions, the attorneys who fought for the innocent, and the families of both perpetrators and victims who continue to grapple with this legacy.

Document compiled November 2025 For corrections or additional information, please contact relevant historical societies or law enforcement agencies

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