Oregon: Land of Corruption and Drunkenness?

Where will it all lead?

When it rains in Oregon, it pours.

I feel obligated to bring these two little controversies to my readers’ attention mainly because it’s happening in my backyard and it hits home in my industry. What it all means isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but just confirming of the fact that regulatory bodies may not be clean as a whistle (and may not employ folks with good sense).

Problem # 1: Oregon Booze Regulators are keeping the good stuff for themselves. Here’s the bottom line:

“Top executives and managers at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission employees have diverted specialty bourbons away from public consumption for their own personal use for years, according to an internal OLCC document released to OPB on Wednesday. The internal investigation, prompted by an OLCC employee complaint, revealed the longstanding practice of OLCC staff, including the agency director, of obtaining rare bottles of liquor. Steve Marks, who until recently was the leader of the agency, told an investigator he requested staff to divert warehoused liquor to a certain store where he could purchase it, according to the report.”

Director Marks has resigned.

We are talking about the good stuff, too: Pappy Van Winkle. This bourbon, in its various bottlings, can go for thousands of dollars. Now, we are told by the hoarders that they only set aside these rare bottles for themselves to drink or to give as gifts, rather than re-sell. Forgive me if I have doubts. But equally concerning is that this practice of the folks at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission of setting aside the good stuff just for themselves are the reports that they also set aside bottles for state lawmakers.

I would be shocked if the Oregon OLCC was the only “control” state in the country where this is happening. A number of states still act as the only wholesaler for liquor and in some cases control all retail sales. Where this is the case you can bet that there is either 1) a bunch of folks hiding their tracks or 2) or internal investigations occurring to see if they have an “Oregon Problem”.