The relationship between a lawyer representing a D.C. liquor wholesale company and the chairman of the city’s alcohol control board is getting a close look by Mayor Vincent Gray’s office, a source close to that assessment told The Washington Examiner. The mayor’s office is examining accusations reported by The Examiner and made by former D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board member Mital Gandhi that Chairman Charles Brodsky backed a request by Washington Wholesale Liquor Co. to distribute in D.C. alcohol stored in a Maryland warehouse for his personal benefit. Brodsky denies the accusation. Previous requests to store liquor in a Maryland warehouse made by Washington Wholesale had been denied, most recently in a board decision in December that determined it to be illegal. On Jan. 21, though, the company’s new lawyer, Emanuel Mpras, filed a new request with different wording and the board approved it in a 5-2 vote on Jan. 26.
The ongoing assessment has not found any evidence to support Gandhi’s accusations, the source said. Gandhi’s term is up in May, and he wasn’t likely to be reappointed by Gray. Last summer he blasted Gray as being “politically motivated” after the D.C. Council rejected Gandhi’s bid to join the Board of Elections and Ethics.
“But because of his friendship with Mpras, it seems Brodsky should have recused himself from votes and conversations involving Washington Wholesale,” the source said.
Mpras did not return calls for comment over the past week.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Brodsky told The Examiner, referring to Mpras. “I am committed to following the letter of the law, nothing else.”
Mpras’ request asked the board to allow Washington Wholesale to use a company-owned warehouse in Maryland to store alcohol that would later be sold in the District. Previous requests have asked the board’s approval for Washington Wholesale to store the alcohol in a Maryland warehouse owned by its sister company. D.C. law, the board has ruled, doesn’t allow a D.C. alcohol wholesale company to buy from another wholesale company.
Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham told The Examiner on Friday, though, that the board’s approval of Mpras’ request in January was a “change of fundamental policy” that should have gone through a public hearing and the D.C. Council.
“It would have been a better judgment,” Graham said.
Graham said he has asked the board to start a public approval process for the policy change.
