ABC Names Career Law-Enforcement Official to Help Run Agency | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is John Trump, who is managing editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    Terrance Merriweather is the new deputy director of The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

    He replaces Bob Hamilton, who left the agency in late July, a couple of weeks before the state released a scathing audit of the agency. The reasons for Hamilton's abrupt departure remain unclear, and the ABC, citing state personnel laws, has refused to comment.

    Merriweather's appointment becomes effective Sept. 17, a news release from the ABC says.

    Merriweather, former head of the state Alcohol Law Enforcement Branch of the State Bureau of Investigation, will assist the ABC administrator with the day-to-day operations of the ABC Commission, including direct oversight of the permit and audit divisions, the release says.

    Merriweather is a graduate of Liberty University and holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Merriweather joined the ALE as a special agent in 2003.

    Merriweather's appointment comes as some lawmakers and media outlets are calling for the ABC to loosen its restrictive rules on alcohol and to even privatize the system.

    The audit released Aug. 9, in short, found that poor contract administration cost North Carolina taxpayers at least $11.3 million over 13 years. Unused warehouse space potentially cost the state $2.1 million over seven years, and a lack of monitoring left the state underpaid by at least $297,537 over two years.

    The fallout continued after Hamilton.

    Michael Herring, one of three members on the state ABC commission, resigned Aug. 15, according to a letter obtained by the Triangle Business Journal. In the letter, Herring called findings by the Office of State Auditor Beth Wood "fictitious" and called out the administration of Gov. Roy Cooper for failing to defend the state ABC, saying it's "an injustice to all that served on the Commission over the past decade."