Taking on the MOB - This is your life Hugh Bentley

Hugh A. Bentley (1909–1984) is known for launching a cleanup drive to get rid of crime and corruption in Phenix City, Alabama, in the early 1950s. He was beaten, and survived an assassination attempt with a dynamite bomb.

Bentley was born on August 15, 1909, in Phenix City. He was the youngest of seven sons. His father, Calvin Bentley, operated a grocery store. His mother was Minnie Bentley.[3] Bentley attended the high school in Phenix City, then Massey Business School in Columbus, Georgia, and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He married Bernice Roche, and the couple had three children. Bentley opened a sporting goods store in Columbus, Georgia.

In 1949, Bentley decided to reform Phenix City, which was widely known as a "sin city," a center of prostitution, and gambling, run by corrupt officials. Phenix City was located across the river from Fort Benning, and its vice dens were a lure for servicemen. After efforts to create civic betterment associations, such as the Christian Laymen's Association and the Good Government League, he organized the Ministers Alliance, which turned over to the Russell County Grand Jury evidence of organized crime in Phenix City. He founded the Russell Betterment Association (named after the county in which Phenix City is located), in 1950. The RBA then enlisted the help of Albert Patterson, an attorney, to help fight corruption at the state level, by running for state Attorney General.