New Hanover alcoholic beverage administrator retires

Wilmington, N.C. — The operating manager of the New Hanover Alcoholic Beverage Control office in North Carolina is retiring after questions were raised about his salary and bonuses.

The StarNews of Wilmington reported that Bradley Williams, 36, retired earlier this month. Chief Executive Dan Sykes said Williams stepped down June 1 after taking a long sick leave.

Williams worked for his father, former administrator Billy Williams, for 15 years before the elder Williams retired in February.

A WRAL Investigates report in November found that Billy Williams was the highest-paid ABC administrator in the state. His son earned nearly $141,000, including a bonus and longevity pay.

The three members of the ABC board members that set the Williams' salaries resigned in January hours before county commissioners were to discuss their salaries.

Gov. Bev Perdue and state lawmakers started reviewing the state's ABC system in the wake of those reports and another highly publicized scandal involving the Mecklenburg County ABC Board.

On Tuesday, a state House of Representatives panel approved a slew of changes to the ABC, including pay limits and a ban on employees directly supervising their relatives.

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Information from: The StarNews

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Latest Comments

timing is impecable

smegma
June 11, 2010 3:32 p.m.

"I hope he has trouble finding another job, especially in NC. All of them need to leave the state." - Ladybug

He probably doesn't need another job. He's probably getting a nice retirement payment from the county or the state based on his previous salary.

That is the one thing they never tell you in these stories. WRAL always seems to leave out the fact that many of these state office crooks "retire" and begin to draw nice government retirement checks.

Just look at the Mary Easley scandal at NC State. Many of the NC State officials who "stepped down" kept their teaching positions at NC State and still draw a professors salary of over $100K a year. Just look them up on the directory on the NC State web page. They are all still there.

NotFromHere
June 11, 2010 3:00 p.m.

A classic case of "getting out while the getting is good."

One more snake slithers away.......

davidgnews
June 11, 2010 2:37 p.m.

I think when we diligently audit ALL state and county officials, we'll get a handle on the hundreds of crooks holding office in NC

chevybelair57sd
June 11, 2010 2:09 p.m.

WOW! Retired at 36....... Must be nice. I hope he has trouble finding another job, especially in NC. All of them need to leave the state.

I agree, ABC stores should be made Private and not run by Gov't.