by Dana Gentry, Nevada Current
A former state employee who was depicted by his co-worker as a female mariachi dancer in a photo distributed in the office, has won close to half a million dollars in a hostile work environment lawsuit settled with the government.
Rino Tenorio, then an auditor for the Department of Taxation’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, told the Current in 2020 that he landed on the wrong side of Director Melanie Young when he filed a sexual orientation complaint in December 2018, after his cannabis division colleague Karalin Cronkhite placed a photo of his face on a photo of a female mariachi musician for an office calendar. Tenorio, who is gay, said he was mortified.
Results of a state investigation went to Young a month later, but Tenorio said he was never notified of the outcome. He eventually filed for whistleblower protection from the state, alleging he was being targeted by Young, who opened an internal investigation when Tenoria told colleagues he was approached by an unsuccessful applicant alleging corruption on the part of the state and a leak in the department.
“I’m going to uncover every stone I can to find out who this person is,” Young vowed, in an audio recording obtained by the Current. “…if I find out who’s sharing this information outside the department, I’m going to come down like a hammer.”
Tenorio turned to the FBI with evidence of questionable actions by cannabis regulators when he was caught up in litigation by applicants who claimed the state was either inept or corrupt when it awarded the lion’s share of licenses in 2018 to a handful of existing licensees.
The Source, which applied for eight licenses, won seven. Last month, the Cannabis Compliance Board, which now regulates marijuana, facilitated a court order to place the Source’s 16 licenses into receivership because of management and debt issues.
Tenorio eventually sued the state, alleging Cronkhite fostered a hostile work environment.
The State Board of Examiners, which consists of Gov. Joe Lombardo, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, and Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose office represented the state in the litigation against Tenorio, approved a settlement of $475,000 last week.
“It was a good settlement, given all the facts and circumstances I found,” Tenorio’s attorney Douglas Cohen said during an interview. Tenorio will receive about $290,000 with the remainder going to attorneys.
Under the terms of an agreement, Tenorio is permitted to work for the state, but not in cannabis regulation.
Lombardo did not respond to questions about whether any disciplinary action had or would be taken against any state employees. Cronkhite was promoted shortly after the incident involving Tenorio. She is Chief of Inspections and Audits for the CCB.
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