Former Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien is suing both the commission and Treasurer Deb Goldberg seeking compensation for alleged retaliation she faced during her time leading the agency and for damages she incurred throughout the legal battle to get her job back. Meanwhile, Goldberg’s office said O’Brien is dredging up old issues that have already been litigated to generate attention.
O’Brien’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court, rehashes a two-year-long legal battle between her and Goldberg that highlighted internal strife within the CCC. It also comes months after Gov. Maura Healey appointed an entirely new commission under a recent law that reformed the marijuana industry and its oversight body while removing Goldberg’s authority to appoint commissioners to the agency. That law terminated O’Brien’s tenure and she was not reappointed.
O’Brien’s complaint, filed by Needham attorney Timothy Burke, includes three separate claims against Goldberg: retaliation in violation of the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act, a charge also brought against the CCC; violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act; and that Goldberg invaded her privacy.
The lawsuit alleges that CCC personnel and Goldberg retaliated against O’Brien because she reported and opposed actions she believed violated the law or regulations and that posed risks to the public.
Burke said O’Brien disclosed or “threatened to disclose” information to public bodies about “conflicts corrupting enforcement; obstruction and delay of investigations; preferential treatment of licensees; concealment of regulatory and public-safety information; data-security failures; testing fraud; contaminated and unregulated cannabis; misuse or loss of public funds; and retaliation against persons who reported such matters.”
In response to O’Brien’s actions, Burke alleged the CCC and Goldberg’s office subjected her to “threats and pressure to resign; manipulation of workplace complaints; unauthorized disclosure of confidential allegations; suspension; exclusion from her office and agency resources; removal; resistance to reinstatement; impairment of her statutory authority; withholding of information; obstruction of investigations and reforms; and other actions that would deter a reasonable public employee from reporting misconduct.”
And as a result of the alleged retaliation, Burke said O’Brien suffered “economic loss, professional and reputational injury, emotional distress, physical symptoms, litigation expenses, and other compensable damages.”
A CCC spokesperson declined to comment on the complaint, saying the commission can’t comment on pending litigation.
Andrew Napolitano, spokesperson for Goldberg, said the treasurer has not been served with the complaint and that he can’t comment on the specifics of pending litigation. Napolitano said the treasurer’s office received a “purported 'whistleblower’ notice” from O’Brien and “based on the baseless allegations set out in that notice, we are confident that our office has not violated the Whistleblower Protection Act or any other laws.”
A six-page whistleblower notice sent Aug. 3, which the News Service obtained from Burke, includes similar allegations of retaliation against O’Brien to the ones presented in her complaint. It asks the treasurer’s office and CCC to provide O’Brien with her complete personnel file. O’Brien also requested that the agencies preserve evidence going back to Jan. 1, 2023 concerning issues of regulatory compliance and misconduct O’Brien included in the complaint and that those issues are investigated by an “independent decision-maker” designated by Goldberg’s office and the CCC.
Burke also said in the complaint that Goldberg violated O’Brien’s civil rights through using “threats, intimidation and coercion.” Burke said Goldberg used those tactics to prevent O’Brien from exercising her right to communicate with public bodies, seek judicial relief and “oppose unlawful government without retaliation.”
Burke argued Goldberg invaded O’Brien’s privacy by disclosing “the existence and substance of racial insensitivity” to Edward Farley, a political consultant and former Lottery official, during an investigation into allegations that O’Brien made racially insensitive comments, which she denied. Farley had no official role in the investigation or “governmental need” to receive them, Burke said.
“Shannon O’Brien is once again attempting to rehash issues that have already been investigated or litigated, further wasting taxpayer dollars,” Napolitano said in a statement to the News Service. “This latest complaint is about generating headlines, not presenting the facts. We are focused on the work of our office. It is time to move on.”
O’Brien’s latest suit also turns on allegations of misconduct involving a commission licensee, Greatest Hits, and the alleged conflicts that existed between the company and former Executive Director Shawn Collins. A CCC spokesperson said the agency provided an investigative file related to the issues surrounding Greatest Hits to the attorney’s general’s office, which did not pursue any prosecution. In June, commissioners ratified a stipulated agreement on enforcement against Greatest Hits and the CCC considers the matter closed, according to the spokesperson.
In September 2023, O’Brien sued Goldberg over her suspension as CCC chair. Goldberg then fired O’Brien in September 2024, saying O’Brien “committed gross misconduct and demonstrated she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of a CCC commissioner” and that O’Brien made racially insensitive comments and contributed to a “hostile work environment.”
Last year, a judge cleared O’Brien to return to her post as CCC chair. That ruling came after a Superior Court judge found Goldberg unlawfully fired O’Brien, and granted her back pay and benefits from the start of her termination.
In the latest suit, O’Brien is seeking damages, in an amount to be determined by a jury, for reputational, professional, emotional, physical and economic injuries that weren’t previously compensated. Along with that, the former CCC chair is seeking compensation equal to three times the lost wages, benefits and other remuneration under the state’s Whistleblower Act.
The lawsuit comes as Goldberg is seeking reelection this fall and is expected to face Republican Elizabeth Dionne in November. Farley has since done work for Dionne’s campaign and was paid $1,500 last month for communications consulting, according to campaign finance records.
