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 bourbons for personal use
FILE - Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum poses for a photo at her office in Portland, Ore., on July 13, 2016. Rosenblum announced Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, that the Criminal Division of her agency, the Oregon Department of Justice, is opening a criminal investigation into the matter involving ethics violations related to the purchase of liquor by some staff of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and possibly others. SALEM, Ore.
It 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.
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