WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the agency that oversaw a botched attempt to track arms flowing to drug cartels in Mexico is being reassigned to Justice Department headquarters, the Obama administration said on Tuesday.
Kenneth Melson, who has been acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has been under fire and admitted mistakes in the sting operation meant to try to crack down on the flow of weapons to violent drug gangs.
He will be reassigned to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy as an adviser on forensic science, the Justice Department said. The attorney for Minnesota, Todd Jones, will serve as acting ATF director.
In further fallout from the operation, the attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, has resigned and the lead prosecutor on that case in the office has been reassigned, according to an administration official.
Another administration official said this is a chance for a "fresh start given everything they've gone through lately" at ATF.
http://news.yahoo.com/atf-chief-reassigned-botched-sting-161949768.html