Retired LCB official, expected to plead guilty to kickbacks, stands to lose $52K pension
Six weeks after former state Liquor Control Board marketing director James Short returned from a Florida vacation paid for by the then-makers of Pinnacle vodkas, LCB officials voted to put Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka on state store shelves, according to records reviewed by the Tribune-Review.
The tab for Short's three-day trip in February 2010, including private jet flights, meals and rounds of golf, was paid by White Rock Distilleries, which made the popular brand of vodka, documents show.
Short, 50, of Susquehanna Township in Dauphin County was charged this week by federal authorities with what prosecutors called a decade-long scheme to defraud Pennsylvania citizens and the state through soliciting and concealing kickbacks from alcohol vendors doing business with the agency that oversees sales at the state's 500 wine and spirits stores.
Short is expected to enter a guilty plea during a hearing set for Sept. 15 in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.
Although federal officials would not identify the companies and products involved in Short's case, the Tribune-Review cross-referenced prosecutors' documents with a 2014 Ethics Commission order against Short and 2010 LCB meeting minutes to determine which products were approved immediately after Short accepted gifts from the vendors.
Six weeks before Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka was approved, Short was flown by private jet to Bonita Springs, Fla., for an all-expenses paid golf vacation with representatives from White Rock and Capital Wine & Spirits, which distributes White Rock's products.
Short stayed at the residence of White Rock Chief Executive Officer Paul Coulombe outside Naples, Fla.
After the trip, on March 31, 2010, Short recommended the distillery's vodka be approved for sale for $13.99 in state stores, according to prosecutors' records.
The documents show White Rock Distilleries paid for a second trip to Bonita Springs for Short and members of Capital Wine & Spirits in December 2011.
Two months after that trip, on Feb. 8, 2012, Short recommended — and the LCB approved — at least 18 items distributed by Capital, including Grey Goose Cherry Noir vodka and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey whiskey.
Coulombe and John Suczynski, former chief financial and operations officer with White Rock, could not be reached for comment.
White Rock sold the rights to its brands, which included Calico Jack rum, to Beam Global in 2012 for $605 million. The distillery was sold again in 2013 to Sazerac Co., according to media reports.
Arlyn Miller, general counsel for Charmer Sunbelt Group, which owns Capital Wine & Spirits, declined to comment.
“I'm sure you understand it's our policy not to comment on ongoing investigations,” Miller said.
In accepting the trips and recommending the company's products, Short likely put his $52,733-a-year state pension in jeopardy.
Short receives $4,394 in pension payments per month. He withdrew a lump sum of $165,433, records from the State Employees Retirement System show.
He left his $113,937-a-year post in March 2014 after 29 years with the LCB.
Under state law, a state employee convicted of or pleading guilty to any number of crimes associated with their employment forfeits their pension at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Short. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“Jim Short accepts responsibility,” said his attorney, Christopher Hall.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Harrisburg declined to comment on whether vendors who offered the gifts and hospitality to LCB officials will be charged in the probe. Federal authorities are continuing their investigation but would not offer details about when more charges could be filed or who may be charged.
“We have no comment in regard to who is being looked at or who are the subjects,” said Dawn Mayko, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Peter Smith.
The federal charges build on an investigation by the State Ethics Commission that found five former LCB officials took gifts and trips and never disclosed them on financial interest statements.
Former LCB Chairman Patrick J. Stapleton III of Malvern in Chester County and former LCB chief executive Joe Conti of Doylestown in Bucks County were cited at the same time as Short last year. The three were collectively ordered to repay more than $23,000 and correct their financial disclosures.
Henry Hockeimer, Stapleton's attorney, said his client “has had no contact with the government or grand jury regarding this matter.”
Matthew Haverstick, who represents Conti, declined to comment.
Kari Andren is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2856 or kandren@tribweb.com.
