{"id":550719,"date":"2023-02-11T18:46:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T15:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/love-of-rare-liquor-lands-oregon-officials-in-criminal-probe\/"},"modified":"2023-02-11T18:46:08","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T15:46:08","slug":"love-of-rare-liquor-lands-oregon-officials-in-criminal-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/love-of-rare-liquor-lands-oregon-officials-in-criminal-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"#Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23d304ced5e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23d304ced5e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/love-of-rare-liquor-lands-oregon-officials-in-criminal-probe\/#Love_of_rare_liquor_lands_Oregon_officials_in_criminal_probe\" >Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Love_of_rare_liquor_lands_Oregon_officials_in_criminal_probe\"><\/span>Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>SALEM, Ore. (AP) \u2014 The Oregon Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into allegations that senior officials in the state&#8217;s alcohol regulatory agency <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/oregon-039dcfabbd07682ee2b0597c4518e9e8\" data-ylk=\"slk:violated ethics laws by diverting;cpos:1;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">violated ethics laws by diverting<\/a> rare, sought-after bourbons for personal use, the state attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> said Friday.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The practice consequently deprived well-heeled whiskey aficionados among the public of the tiny-batch boutique bourbons.<\/p>\n<p>It also violated several Oregon statutes, including one that prohibits public officials from using confidential information for personal gain, according to the commission\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Kotek also asked Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to conduct an independent civil investigation. Instead, the justice department&#8217;s criminal division opened an investigation, Rosenblum announced, adding that a civil probe would come later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission will comply fully with the criminal investigation announced today by the Oregon Attorney General,\u201d commission spokesman Mark Pettinger said in an email.<\/p>\n<p>Criminal law involves prosecuting defendants and holding offenders accountable, usually through imprisonment or probationary sentences. Civil law addresses situations in which an economic award or penalty might help remedy a situation.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Mayton, distilled spirits program director, who was one of the people accused of abusing his position, told the OLCC investigator that he had served as a \u201cfacilitator\u201d for commission employees and legislators hundreds of times in acquiring the whiskeys as part of his work duties. He did not name any lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>The officials purportedly had very limited bottles of top-shelf bourbon routed to a liquor store, often in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie where the commission headquarters is located, and would reserve them for pickup later.<\/p>\n<p>The Oregon Government Ethics Commission is in charge of investigating ethics violations by lawmakers. To date, the commission hasn&#8217;t received any complaints against legislators about the matter, Executive Director Ronald Bersin said in an email Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Marks has not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, but in his responses during the investigation, he denied that he had violated Oregon ethics laws and state policy. However, he acknowledged that he had received preferential treatment \u201cto some extent\u201d in obtaining the whiskey as a commission employee. Marks and the other officials denied they resold the whiskeys they obtained.<\/p>\n<p>The board of commissioners is <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointed by the governor and in turn selects the executive director, according to a commission spokesman. The commissioners\u2019 next regular meeting is Wednesday. The agency is the state\u2019s third-largest revenue generator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/love-lux-liquor-lands-oregon-154608419.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Love of rare liquor lands Oregon officials in criminal probe SALEM, Ore. (AP) \u2014 The Oregon Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into allegations that senior officials in the state&#8217;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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":550720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Grsrq0hLfnLz3_N64uCTmQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04NDY-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/6da7c2b51181938dbc4e75977186c717","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}