Former Police Commissioner Lee P. Brown is President Clinton's choice to be the country's new drug czar, the New York Post reported Monday.
Brown, 55, headed the nation's largest police department from 1990 until last year, when he resigned to take a teaching post in Houston and be with his ailing wife. She died a short time later.A White House spokesman refused to comment on the appointment and the Post could not reach Brown, whose name had also been mentioned as a potential FBI director.
The Post cited City Hall sources as saying Brown is a shoo-in for the drug czar job.
During his tenure, drug arrests dropped as Brown shifted officers from narcotics cases to a new program focusing on neighborhood patrols.
Despite the drop in drug arrests, serious crimes, like robberies, assaults and murders, dipped last year throughout the city.