Costco wins a round...maybe

Jim welcome to macro-economics. One thing I should add is the its well known that many of the largest wholesalers especially those in many states had their origins after repeal or World War II and were initially used to launder ill gotten booty.. Despite repeated investigations by ambitious DA's and Pulitzer hunting scribes, the are now "clean' and geared to the bottom line. There is still a large amount of caution for people dealing with them. The lingering thought of violence makes some legislators,& liquor board members leery of opposing these companies.

I asked one old timer who dealt a lot in Grey market Bordeaux(don't ask again) if he was really mobbed up. He winked at me and said "I like my customers to think that ... helps collecting on invoices"