After nearly three years, the Cannabis Control Commission is poised to take action on a whistle-blower complaint that figured prominently in the ugly spat between the agency's former executive director, Shawn Collins, and its chairperson, Shannon O'Brien. The whistle-blower claimed in 2023 that his former employer, Greatest Hits, a cannabis retailer with shops in three towns, was running an illegal grow operation and using underaged workers.
More significantly, he has also alleged company leaders often bragged of close connections to Collins and claimed the then-CCC director would shield their firm from regulators, allegations Collins strongly denies.
The commission's current director, Travis Ahern, said in an interview that Greatest Hits will face an "enforcement action," which could range from an order to make minor fixes to the seizure of a license. He declined to comment further.
In a brief phone interview, Greatest Hits chief executive Joe Villatico said, "I don't respond to false allegations." He declined to answer specific questions. Collins declined an interview, but said by email that he "did not provide any licensee or applicant preferential treatment, access, or protection" during his tenure, which ended more than two years ago, and stressed that he did nothing to influence the investigation after leaving.
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