Actions by yet another local ABC board member are under scrutiny. This time it’s in Durham. From the Herald-Sun:
State officials have launched an investigation into the Durham County ABC Board, looking, among other things, at whether its still-new general manager has been steering contracts to friends of board members.
Agnes Stevens, spokeswoman for the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, confirmed that commission Administrator Mike Herring requested the probe at the end of May.
He asked N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement – the state police agency that enforces North Carolina’s alcohol laws – to conduct the investigation. As of Wednesday, it and two audits of the Durham ABC board remained incomplete.
No matter the outcome of the investigation, it is well past time for North Carolina to follow other states and privatize the ABC system, where this a potential for $800 million in revenue from the sale. The John Locke Foundation’s Agenda 2012 offers background on other states here
