The executive director and other senior executives of Oregon’s booze and marijuana regulatory agency may lose their jobs due to a desire for expensive bottles of bourbon.
The executive director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, Steve Marks, and five other agency officials were found to have stolen sought-after bourbons, including Pappy Van Winkle’s 23-year-old whiskey, for their own use, according to an internal investigation obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday through a public records request.
The study found that while the officials were paying for the whiskey, which can cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, they were able to receive them thanks to their connections and inside knowledge at the commission. As a result, the public was denied access to the expensive liquor. The commission’s inquiry found that this violated many laws in Oregon, including one that forbids public officials from utilizing private information for personal advantage.
Marks and the other employees involved were requested to be fired by the agency’s board of commissioners on Wednesday by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, who said they “abused their position for personal advantage.”
“This conduct is completely unacceptable. In her letter to the board of commissioners, Kotek said, “I will not stand for improper breaches of our government ethics regulations.
Marks refuted allegations that he had transgressed state and ethical regulations of Oregon in his answers to the investigator’s queries. He did admit, however, that as a commission worker, he had “to some degree” benefited from special treatment in getting the whiskey. The whiskeys they acquired, according to Marks and the other authorities, were never resold.
According to agency spokesman Mark Pettinger, this episode “underlines the need of having public accountability.” The OLCC must uphold Oregon’s ethics rules while working to rehabilitate and restore the public’s confidence.
Kotek, a Democrat who had been the longtime speaker of the Oregon House until leaving office last month, requested Marks’ resignation but provided no explanation for the request. Kotek said that thereafter, she discovered this company and the bourbon.
According to a commission spokeswoman, the executive director is chosen by the board of commissioners, which is in turn nominated by the governor. The commissioners will meet again in normal session on Wednesday. The organization is the third-largest source of income for the state.
Kotek has requested that Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum launch a separate civil inquiry into the scope of any misconduct and make recommendations for stricter procedures to make sure ethics rules are upheld.
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