Revolving Door: DEA’s No.2 quits amid reports of previous consulting work for Big Pharma

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Louis Milione’s four years of consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA to serve as Administrator Anne Milgram’s top deputy, renewing concerns in the agency and beyond about the revolving door between government and industry and its potential impact on the DEA’s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths. The Justice Department told the AP that Milione disclosed his potential conflicts when he returned to the DEA and that the principal deputy administrator’s position was created before Milgram’s tenure. But in an internal email to staff, Milgram hailed the 60-year-old Milione as a “DEA legend” best known for leading the overseas sting that in 2008 nabbed Russia’s notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout. “Lou has used his skills as a master case maker to help us bring cases against entire criminal networks and to investigate the entire globally fentanyl supply chain.” Milione’s exit adds to the turmoil at the top of the DEA following a number of other high-level departures, misconduct scandals and the launch of federal watchdog investigation into millions in no-bid contracts awarded to past associates of Milgram.