Bourbongate: an Oregon classic
There are crooks in government everywhere in the world. But only here in Oregon do people foolishly tell themselves there aren't that many.
Here's the latest, and it stinks to high heaven. The scam was likely worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, all told over the years. If only we had state or federal prosecutors with guts, the crooks (potentially including some politicians) would face prosecution. But we don't. So they won't.
At least it would be nice if they'd give up the names. All of the names, not just the fall guys. That, too, is probably a pipedream. Some people are simply above all rules and ethics.
UPDATE, Friday late afternoon: Surprise, surprise, the Oregon Justice Department says it's launching a criminal investigation. Good.
Somewhere in that mess, a victim exists.
ReplyDeleteI'd be surprised if this isn't being referred to DOJ criminal division (it would be a stretch to find a federal nexus for the US Atty to touch this though). Unless I'm missing something, I don't think a theft charge is viable since they paid for it, and there is no evidence being reported that it was sold on the secondary market. However, Official Misconduct I (Class A misdemeanor) is clearly on the table.
ReplyDeleteThere’s always RICO. There’s also a boatload of interstate commerce. And come on, they were probably reselling at a huge profit.
DeleteGood thought about ORS 162.415 (the class A misdemeanor): "A public servant commits the crime of official misconduct in the first degree if:
Delete(a)With intent to obtain a benefit or to harm another:
(A)The public servant knowingly fails to perform a duty imposed upon the public servant by law or one clearly inherent in the nature of office; or
(B)The public servant knowingly performs an act constituting an unauthorized exercise in official duties"
I doubt these would qualify as predicate offenses for RICO unless there was murder, bribery or kidnapping involved, but the interstate commerce is an interesting angle. Even then, the US Atty wouldn't touch it unless a lot more is uncovered. Crombie and the new kid at the Weed are dawgs so we should expect some interesting new revelations. A lot of legislators must be getting nervous though, and to quote a comment I saw online, they must be saying "A splash of Pappy please, for the nerves."
ReplyDeleteORS 164.075(1)(h)? Too much of a stretch, maybe. But you wonder if they declared the profit (if they resold) on their tax returns. Plenty of criminal liability potential there.
DeletePlus, if they resold without a license, that's a crime (a class A misdemeanor, I think). ORS 471.405(3) and 471.990(1)?
DeleteNowadays it's hard to sell items worth thousands of dollars without some record somewhere. Maybe they used crypto.
Extortion would be a tough sell because you have to have compel/induce with essentially some type of threat that the person ordering it would/would not do something to affect the person adversely. If higher up says "hey warehouse worker, set the Pappy aside even though we both know it's against the rules or else I will fire you" then you can have a conversation about it, but short of that I don't think it's there. I've never encountered 471.990 but in my quick search it appears that it would come down to how the ORS defines "wholesale." There has to be a gift exception of some type to .405, but I do like that this statute uses the word "peddle" (:
DeleteI concur with Chris, nothing was stolen from the state OLCC, however its a very serious breach of ethics at the least and thats huge cause for concern, given the events of the past several years in state government. Any employee and/or manager that participated should be terminated without prejudice immediately.Credibility & integrity in Salem is at an all-time low and a restoration will be a multi-year effort at best.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it we need public employees running a liquor distribution warehouse anyway?
ReplyDeleteThe WillyWeek says most of this happened in Milwaukie. Last time I checked, Milwaukie was in Clackamas County, and last time I checked, it had a real District Attorney and Sheriff. So, is anybody going to ask them whether there is an open file about this?
ReplyDelete