A Charlotte community activist who was arrested on charges of selling moonshine out of her day care center said she made a "mistake" but was set up by one of her neighbors, who calls her a "snitch" for working with code enforcement in the neighborhood.
N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement agents arrested Gwendolyn Brown-Johnson, 57, and her husband, Artis Johnson, 64, last Friday at Parkview Community Center, a day-care operation and community foundation off Tuckaseegee Road.
Johnson's Web site says she is devoted to providing disadvantaged children with "supervision and protection from a hazardous social environment"
The foundation's Web site says Brown-Johnson incorporated the Parkview Community Foundation in 1997. The group provides after-school programs, distributes food and counsels local youth to avoid drugs and alcohol.
ALE agents say children were in the day-care center when they sent in an undercover agent to buy two gallons of moonshine last week.
"The children were our first concern," said ALE Director John Ledford in a statement.
Agents say they were tipped off by local complaints.
The foundation's Web site said Brown-Johnson, who is the president and CEO, also encourages landlords to evict tenants engaged in drug sales and other criminal activity.
The Parkview Foundation is listed as a nonprofit, but doesn't have to file full financial disclosures because it takes in less than $25,000 per year.
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