Author to talk about Liberty's notorious Jungle Inn

A storied and notorious site of the Valley’s criminal past will be the topic of an event this weekend in Boardman.

The Boardman Historical Society will host Author Allan May who will be speaking about his book “Welcome to The Jungle Inn!”

Allan R. May is also the author of The History of the Mahoning Valley Mafia, Crimetown USA, Petro-Cleveland’s Handsomest Public Enemy:  The Story of Julius Petro and His Collinwood Burglary Crew.

The public is invited to the event on Saturday, March 9, at 10:00 am at Boardman Park, St. James Church Community Center.

The Jungle Inn was a roadhouse in Liberty township, just outside the city limits of Youngstown and under the jurisdiction of city police.

Mike and John Farah operated the Jungle Inn until the late 1940s.

It wasn’t gambling that was the Jungle Inn’s undoing.

The Governor of Ohio sent in a team of agents from the state liquor control board because they were selling liquor without any controls, and that's how it was shut down.

If you’d like to drive by and see the former gambling den, you’re out of luck.

The building that housed the Jungle Inn burned down in the 1970's.