Oregon’s top liquor official resigns after admitting to hoarding rare bourbon from state warehouse

Officials bought rare bottles from state warehouse, investigation found

A top official at Oregon’s liquor and cannabis control agency resigned this week, after an internal investigation found that he and other top agency personnel diverted rare bottles of bourbon from the public supply so they could be purchased for personal use.

“Gov. [Tina] Kotek has requested that I resign from my position as executive director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission,” Steve Marks, executive director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, wrote in a resignation letter on Monday. “Because I believe that the governor is entitled to have her own management team, I will honor that request. Accordingly, I resign effective at 5:00 PM on February 15, 2023.”

An internal agency investigation found that at least six officials at the OLCC abused their position to personally access sought-after bottles.

A publicly released summary of the investigation quoted a source who “wanted to reiterate how widespread this practice is and what his position requires, procuring product for individuals—which included OLCC employees and legislators.”

The investigation began when a departing employee relayed their concerns to agency staff last April, telling colleagues that it was common practice at a state warehouse holding back-up liquor supply to set aside certain products and then send them to stores to be picked up.

The disclosure triggered an internal investigation.

“Several agency executive managers were interviewed regarding the subsequent investigation into this matter and some implicated Executive Director Marks in the tacit approval of their actions and also engaged in the practice themselves,” Rich Evans, director of the OLCC’s licensing and compliance division, wrote in a December memo, Wilammette Week reports.

Mr Marks also admitted to investigators that he would “divert warehoused liquor for his personal use.”

The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported on the findings of the investigation.

Mr Marks and others were reportedly particularly keen to get bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, a highly prized Kentucky brand which can fetch thousands of dollars.

“This behavior is wholly unacceptable,” Oregon governor Kotek wrote in a statement following the findings in the investigation. “I will not tolerate wrongful violations of our government ethics laws.”

The Oregon attorney general’s office has launched a criminal investigation into practices at the state liquor agency, and a civil probe could follow, the New York Times reports.