Oregon Senate Republicans are asking Gov. Tina Kotek to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the scandal surrounding top executives and managers at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, who diverted specialty bourbons away from public consumption for their own personal use.
The Republican legislators also want to know who received specialty liquor.
“In recent months, there have been multiple reports that lawmakers, public officials, and management at the OLCC had benefited from the diversion of bottles of high-end, rare liquor,” reads the letter lawmakers sent to the governor. “Most recently, in mid-March, three top OLCC officials were fired for their involvement, leaving us with more questions than answers.”
Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, asked his colleagues to imagine if the state — the governor and legislators — were controlled by Republicans.
“Would you be comfortable with those Republicans essentially investigating themselves?” Knopp said. “I don’t believe the public is going to believe an investigation that is not independent.”
Oregon state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, speaks on the floor of the Senate on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Ore.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
After speaking on the Senate floor, Knopp told OPB that Republicans have been told there’s a list somewhere of the public officials who received rare liquors as preferential treatment. He said he believes the OLCC generated that document.
Steve Marks, who was the OLCC director at the time of the scandal, resigned under pressure. Craig Prins, inspector general for the Oregon Corrections Department, is now serving as the interim head.
According to an internal agency investigation last year, Marks and five top OLCC managers used their positions to reserve bottles of hard-to-find bourbons, which they purchased for themselves or saved for others, as The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported. The Oregon Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
The OLCC distributes all liquor sold within the state, and it brings in a lot of money doing so. The agency is Oregon’s third-largest source of revenue, after income taxes and the lottery.
A file photo of the exterior of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
“It is with an unwavering commitment to full transparency that we request these investigations be conducted by independent outside counsel,” the letter from Republicans to the governor reads.
The OLCC has been working to build a new warehouse and headquarters. The scandal has also renewed a desire from some Republicans to take a closer look at that project.
Dirk VanderHart contributed to this report.
This story may be updated.