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Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe
AP via ABC News ^ | 2/10/2023 | Andew Selsky

Posted on 02/12/2023 8:18:54 AM PST by Saije

SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into allegations that senior officials in the state's alcohol regulatory agency violated ethics laws by diverting rare, sought-after bourbons for personal use, the state attorney general said Friday.

The officials said they were paying for the whiskey, which can cost thousands of dollars a bottle, but they allegedly used their knowledge and connections at the commission to obtain the products, according to an internal investigation by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.

The practice had purportedly been going on for many years and involved not only state employees but also members of the Oregon Legislature, the OLCC investigator was told.

The practice consequently deprived well-heeled whiskey aficionados among the public of the tiny-batch boutique bourbons.

It also violated several Oregon statutes, including one that prohibits public officials from using confidential information for personal gain, according to the commission’s investigation.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek expressed outrage at the findings and on Wednesday asked the OLCC board of commissioners to fire Executive Director Steve Marks and others who have been implicated.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bourbon; corruption; government; grift; liquor; oregon; thegrift; whiskey
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What's the point of having a government job if you can't be on the grift?
1 posted on 02/12/2023 8:18:54 AM PST by Saije
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To: Saije

I thought having a gov job was all about getting on the inside track.


2 posted on 02/12/2023 8:22:24 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (We are not fit to live free but must be enslaved to control the chaos of our unfettered appetites.)
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To: Saije

An old saying used to be that “cops always have the best porn and the best dope.”

I guess that can be expanded to include the best booze.


3 posted on 02/12/2023 8:30:58 AM PST by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest )
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To: Saije

Pappy is very hard to find.


4 posted on 02/12/2023 8:33:13 AM PST by Jim Noble (You have sat too long for any good you have been doing)
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To: Saije

When they say “personal use” the mean reselling it for profit. Even “good” government” is nothing but force and theft. We only tolerate “good government” because the alternative is a murderous anarchy fueled by thousands of tyrants.


5 posted on 02/12/2023 8:41:10 AM PST by wildcard_redneck (The Ukraine is dead, the head just doesn't know it yet.)
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To: Saije
so they weren't after Boone's farm Wine eh?


6 posted on 02/12/2023 8:46:09 AM PST by Bob434
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To: Bob434

The cheap wine of underaged drinkers, everywhere (the 70s).


7 posted on 02/12/2023 8:49:26 AM PST by M_Continuum
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To: Saije

They stole all the PAPPY!


8 posted on 02/12/2023 8:51:21 AM PST by babble-on
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To: M_Continuum

Yep- we bought a 1 gallon jug of it back in the day- horrible headache from it too-


9 posted on 02/12/2023 8:55:33 AM PST by Bob434
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To: Saije

Some pigs are more equal than others.


10 posted on 02/12/2023 8:56:50 AM PST by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
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To: M_Continuum

“(the 70s).”

the 60s


11 posted on 02/12/2023 8:58:58 AM PST by TexasGator (!!!)
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To: M_Continuum

Not “Mad Dog 20/20” ??
:)


12 posted on 02/12/2023 8:59:56 AM PST by milagro (There is no peace in appeasement! There)
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To: milagro

No :)


13 posted on 02/12/2023 9:04:52 AM PST by M_Continuum
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To: TexasGator

Stood the test of time.


14 posted on 02/12/2023 9:05:20 AM PST by M_Continuum
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To: Bob434

The hangovers were the worst.


15 posted on 02/12/2023 9:05:54 AM PST by M_Continuum
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To: Saije

AND a government job where you can afford thousand dollar bottles of bourbon.

And Kotek’s “outrage” is a show. She is mad they just got caught and now has to get booze like every other chump.


16 posted on 02/12/2023 9:31:57 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: M_Continuum

Agreed- only drank it a few times when $$ was low-


17 posted on 02/12/2023 9:32:50 AM PST by Bob434
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To: Saije
Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe

They did it for love, not because they're crooks.

18 posted on 02/12/2023 9:33:03 AM PST by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: Saije

I mean come on...gov’t going to gov’t.

Sure gov’t employees make more money than their private sector counterparts and have guaranteed pensions. But if you take away their ability to commit fraud waste and abuse to make even more money, who will want to work in gov’t?


19 posted on 02/12/2023 9:40:50 AM PST by for-q-clinton (Cancel Culture IS fascism...Let's start calling it that!)
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To: M_Continuum

Up to the early 90s.


20 posted on 02/12/2023 10:10:16 AM PST by rdl6989 ( )
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