Parks Helms is one arrogant piece of work. Accepting high-end meals from liquor salesmen as if it is his birth-right and brazenly telling state investigators that Del Frisco’s is “the finest restaurant in town” and he only eats there when somebody else pays. Oh and that lunch at the Ritz-Carlton paid for by the liquor industry? Ol’ Parks ain’t paying for that one, either.
You cannot make this stuff up.
Nor could you invent a more clear chance for the Mecklenburg County Commission to step up and demonstrate some backbone by removing Ol’ Parks. But you watch what is gonna happen.
The state ABC commission is loathe to let counties have free run when it comes to local ABC boards, regardless of what the law might say. They’ll move to slap Parks and ABC CEO Calvin McDougal on the wrist, warn them not to do it again, and move on. Jennifer Roberts will then point to whatever the state commission does and say problem solved.
The alternative for state officials is to root out such insider gifting across the state. And that would be a massive mess which could reveal much more corruption than the ABC commission itself could survive. As such, we’re in damage control mode now.
So get ready for more of Roberts’ pedantic lectures on the use of the word “homo” and mindless justifications for whatever DSS does with its money. Ol’ Parks is living well indeed.
