Federal prosecutors last week charged a top cannabis official in Atlantic City, New Jersey with allegedly soliciting bribes from a cannabis business owner.
Kashawn McKinley, the city’s director of constituent services and a member of the Cannabis Review Board, faces up to 30 years in prison for charges of honest services fraud and bribery, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
McKinley was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
McKinley hasn’t entered a plea.
What is the New Jersey cannabis corruption case?
McKinley’s role placed him at the center of local cannabis licensing and operations.
On his LinkedIn page, he referred to himself as “Atlantic City’s Cannabis Czar,” according to NJ.com.
Prosecutors accused McKinley of soliciting $20,000 in bribes from a cannabis business owner between 2022 and 2023.
They allege he sought an additional $9,000 from 2025 to 2026.
McKinley allegedly received the payment for his help in getting the cannabis business classified as a “micro” business, which requires a $2,500 annual renewal fee instead of $25,000 for a standard cannabis business, according to the news release.
The complaint doesn’t name the cannabis business involved.
Last summer, two of New Jersey’s first four cannabis consumption lounges opened in Atlantic City.
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Is marijuana corruption common?
Federal law enforcement has long warned that local officials are susceptible to “pay to play” corruption when cannabis licensing decisions are decentralized.
And in New Jersey, local governments enjoy broad authority over cannabis licensing.
Of the 564 cities in New Jersey, only 160, or about 28%, allow cannabis retailers to operate.
As a result, many of New Jersey’s licensed marijuana retailers are crowded into a small number of cities, including Atlantic City, which last year capped the number of retailers allowed at 16.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. “believes in the justice system, and Kashawn McKinley is innocent until proven guilty, according to the Inquirer.
McKinley’s assigned public defender declined to comment, according to the Inquirer.
Prominent local officials in other states who have pleaded guilty or been convicted in cannabis bribery schemes include the former Michigan House Speaker and a Massachusetts mayor.
