Another former DABC employee has stepped forward to link a recent 3rd District Court verdict that Utah Commerce Director Francine Giani wrongfully fired her assistant and the decline of quality and service at the state’s Alcohol Beverage Department resulting from Giani’s brief reign of terror there.
Gary K. Clark, who resigned in protest in 2015 as the downtown wine store’s assistant manager, wrote a letter to the Trib arguing Giani’s treatment of her assistant “pales in comparison” to her legacy at the DABC where she cut a third of the staff. Clark says:
“Draconian new policies resulted in continual product shortages and stores were denied the ability to control our orders. Store staffing was cut while sales continued to climb and customer service was no longer a priority.”
Giani does have her defenders, including many in the Legislature and the Governor’s Office. And, of course, her feud with disgraced former AG Mark Shurtleff may outweigh any heavy handedness at the DABC.
Clark hopes the court ruling ordering Giani and the state pay $250,000 will bring former DABC employees some sense of vindication. “But it won’t begin to repair the damage done.”
