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New Public Integrity Chief Left ?Dream Job? for ?Better One?

By Andrew Ramonas

The new leader of the Justice Department Public Integrity Section told The Associated Press that he had a “dream job” that he did never intended leave — until he was offered the reins of the DOJ’s elite government corruption unit.

Jack Smith, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y., became the Public Integrity Section chief in May after overseeing international war crimes investigations at The Hague in the Netherlands. He succeeded embattled chief William Welch II, who stepped down late last year. Welch oversaw the prosecution of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The case was dismissed in April 2009 after prosecutor errors were discovered.

Smith said he read about the case and couldn’t resist the opportunity to lead the section.

“I had a dream job and I had no desire to leave it, but opportunities like this don’t come up very often,” he told The AP. “I left the dream job for a better one.”

The new chief said he found the 30-person unit working “at a high level.”

“I have no excuses if we don’t achieve great things,” Smith said.

Full post as published by Main Justice on August 30, 2010 (boomark / email).