Shannon O’Brien accuses Goldberg of using ‘anonymous witnesses’ as hearings stretch on

An attorney representing suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien accused Treasurer Deb Goldberg of “relying on anonymous witnesses” to build a case against O’Brien as the duo is set to stretch into a third closed-door meeting later this month.

Two days worth of private hearings were apparently not enough to resolve a long-running dispute between O’Brien and Goldberg that started when the treasurer abruptly suspended O’Brien last fall, claiming “several serious allegations,” including alleged racially incentive comments, led to the decision.

O’Brien has denied the accusations and her attorney, Max Stern, said Friday afternoon that the suspended chair was trying to “publicly defend her reputation and bring transparency to the process.”

“Treasurer Goldberg is trying to build her case relying on anonymous witnesses,” Stern said in a statement. “Although Treasurer Goldberg was personally and deeply involved in key events, the treasurer has insisted that she should be allowed to report her own version of her role as the truth, without testifying under oath or being cross-examined.”

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The pair of hearings, which kicked off Thursday, are governed by a court-approved protocol which O’Brien unsuccessfully attempted to challenge last year.

O’Brien wanted to remove Goldberg as the “fact finder” for the meetings, arguing the treasurer was too tied up in the internal affairs of the commission to oversee the hearings. But a Suffolk County Superior Court judge denied that attempt and a local Appeals Court upheld the ruling.

O’Brien and Goldberg will meet again on May 31 after the two hearings this week ended without a resolution.

Goldberg said the discussions were “moving along.”

“I think that given the importance of this entire process, that we should take whatever time is necessary in order to come to the right conclusion,” Goldberg told reporters after Friday’s four-hour meeting finished.

Two reports authored by independent investigators — which have not been made public other than a letter detailing the alleged racial comment — outline the allegations against O’Brien and are expected to serve as the basis for Goldberg’s decision to remove or keep O’Brien at the Cannabis Control Commission.

The court protocols called for two four-hour sessions where both Goldberg and O’Brien could address why the pot boss was suspended. The meetings were also expected to cover the two outside investigations.

An independent mediator, Thomas Maffei of the law firm Sherin and Lodgen, oversaw the first two meetings.

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