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.
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into allegations that senior officials in the state's alcohol regulatory agencyrare, sought-after bourbons for personal use, the state attorney general said Friday.
The practice consequently deprived well-heeled whiskey aficionados among the public of the tiny-batch boutique bourbons. Kotek also asked Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to conduct an independent civil investigation. Instead, the justice department's criminal division opened an investigation, Rosenblum announced, adding that a civil probe would come later.
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 “facilitator” for commission employees and legislators hundreds of times in acquiring the whiskeys as part of his work duties. He did not name any lawmakers.