Park Helms Breaks NC's Alcohol Laws! Where's Jennifer Roberts?

NC State Law Enforcement Agents Says Charlotte- Mecklenburg ABC Board Violated Rules


NC State Alcohol Law Enforcement agents said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County ABC Board and the liquor company Diageo broke state alcohol laws during a November dinner for the board at which Diageo paid the $9,000 tab.

The agents' report also details several other dinners and lunches for Mecklenburg board members or employees that were paid for by liquor companies. Board Chair Parks Helms and CEO Calvin McDougal went to lunch at the Ritz Carlton the day before the Nov. 18 dinner at Del Frisco's steakhouse.

The agents charged the board with accepting illegal gifts and charged Diageo and one of its representatives with providing the gifts and unlawfully entering an ABC store for reasons other than conducting business.

The state ABC Commission's chair, Jon Williams, ordered the investigation in November, and the commission adjudicates allegations of liquor law violations. The state commission did not issue any additional comment beyond the agents' report.

Helms and McDougal and other employees attending the dinner, originally reported by Observer news partner WCNC, have since repaid Diageo. There were 28 employees and spouses at the dinner at Del Frisco's steakhouse.

Helms and McDougal have both said that the state commission has previously left it up to local boards to decide whether to accept gifts from distillers. A 1996 memo from the state commission offers unclear guidance, highlighting state law banning gifts but then saying that local boards can decide whether to accept them.

The Mecklenburg board did more than $11 million worth of business with Diageo last year.

Diageo's representative who organized the dinner said he has previously offered to treat Craig Pleasants, general manager of Wake County's ABC Board, to meals but has been refused.





Fire Parks, County ABC CEO Now!


OK folks.

Here’s your smoking gun. State liquor board investigators say that the Mecklenburg County ABC Board violated state law by accepting a $9000 steak dinner from a distiller the board did $11m. worth of business with last year. Plus investigators also uncovered other liquor-seller free lunches, including a Ritz-Carlton feast featuring good ol’ Parks Helms and county ABC CEO Calvin McDougal the day before the $9K dinner.

In all these weeks of chatter about the big Del Frisco’s dinner Parks and McDougal never saw fit to mention that Ritz-Carlton swag. Imagine that. Wonder what other freebies are out there that we don’t know about.

As we’ve said before, it is down to trust. I want to hear Jennifer Roberts stand up and say she trusts the current ABC leadership to do the right thing. If she can’t or won’t do that, then Roberts needs to get a vote out of the county commission to remove Parks and McDougal. Now.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Newsobserver, The Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, Google Maps