No criminal charges in rare liquor probe at Oregon alcohol agency, state report says

By CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s justice department has concluded that criminal charges are not warranted in the rare liquor investigation that shook the state’s alcohol agency last year. The department launched the probe in February 2023 and announced its decision Monday. It examined whether employees of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission improperly used their positions to obtain bottles of top-shelf bourbon for personal use. After reviewing thousands of documents and interviewing dozens of people, state justice officials say they don’t have sufficient evidence to prove criminal offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. A separate civil ethics investigation is ongoing. The controversy forced the agency’s head to resign last year.