The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission on Wednesday announced the resumption after a year-long hiatus. The state agency suspended the chance-to-purchase program last year amid a diversion scandal.

OLCC employees allegedly “for their own benefit or that of a third party, used their positions and special knowledge to obtain in-demand bottles of liquor that were not then available to the public.”

That’s one of the first lines in the 11-page summary of the Department of Justice investigation into potential criminal acts by members of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.

The Department of Justice did not find enough evidence to bring criminal charges, though it is possible people could face ethics violations. At least six managers were reprimanded, fired or left the OLCC.

We “found that the evidence available to us supports a conclusion that some employees used their positions to obtain high-demand, difficult to find, liquor for themselves or others, but that same evidence fell short of establishing the particulars of any instance in which an employee did so. The sole exception involved evidence that a specific employee requested a liquor distributor send to OLCC a case of a seasonal liquor so that it could be purchased by OLCC executives. However, after examining the records of that liquor store, the bank card processor, and the financial institutions, we were unable to discover the identity of the individual who made the subsequent purchase.”

There were no policies that prohibited these practices. There was no training that said it was wrong. At least one OLCC executive director endorsed it.

We wish we had better news. Maybe anyone would be tempted, especially in a workplace where such behavior is sanctioned.

One part of Oregon government created a safe space for lapses in virtue.

You can read the summary of the investigation here: tinyurl.com/OLCCinvestigation