... distribution of alcohol. Wholesaler, Distributor, Retailer. I recently began considering importing and selling liquor from overseas but did not know that there would be middlemen in between wholesalers and retailers. Is it legal for myself and other members of my family to own different portions of this system and do business with each other or are there laws against that. i.e. I own the Wholesale portion my wife owns the distribution portion and my nephew owns the retail portion?

I live in the state of Illinois where the state doesn't own either of these tiers but I am not sure if they offer legalized monopolies to large distributors or if private citizens can actually participate in the portion of the business