{"id":25523,"date":"2023-07-19T14:31:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T14:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/07\/19\/deas-no-2-quits-amid-reports-of-consulting-work-for-big-pharma\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:19","slug":"deas-no-2-quits-amid-reports-of-consulting-work-for-big-pharma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2023\/07\/19\/deas-no-2-quits-amid-reports-of-consulting-work-for-big-pharma\/","title":{"rendered":"DEA\u2019s No. 2 quits amid reports of consulting work for Big Pharma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s second-in-command has quietly stepped down amid reporting by The Associated Press that he once consulted for a pharmaceutical distributor sanctioned for a deluge of suspicious painkiller shipments and did similar work for the drugmaker that became the face of the opioid epidemic: Purdue Pharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Louis Milione\u2019s four years of consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA to serve as Administrator Anne Milgram\u2019s top deputy, renewing concerns in the agency and beyond about the revolving door between government and industry and its potential impact on the DEA\u2019s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2023\/05\/24\/dea-failure-to-punish-opioid-distributor-fuels-revolving-door-question\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23118809372449.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DEA failure to punish opioid distributor fuels revolving door question<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The delay raised concerns about how the revolving door between government and industry may be impacting the DEA\u2019s mission to police drug companies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWorking for Purdue Pharma should not help you get a higher job in government,\u201d said Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a watchdog for corporate influence in the federal government. \u201cToo much collegiality is a problem. It\u2019s hard to view your past and potentially future colleagues as scofflaws. Any independent person would find this abhorrent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milione initially left the DEA in 2017 after a 21-year career that included a two-year stint leading the division that controls the sale of highly addictive narcotics. Like dozens of colleagues in the DEA\u2019s Office of Diversion Control, he went to work as a consultant for some of the same companies he had been tasked with regulating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/opioids-fentanyl-drugs-addiction-painkillers-dea-df929764bc0e98da86d7ea198cd96b79\">AP reported in May<\/a> that Milione\u2019s consulting included testifying on behalf of the nation\u2019s fourth-largest wholesale drug distributor, Morris &amp; Dickson, as it fought to save its license to supply painkillers to hospitals and pharmacies. A federal administrative judge determined four years ago that the Louisiana-based company failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders at the height of the opioid crisis but the DEA didn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/opioids-fentanyl-drugs-addiction-painkillers-dea-e29d16194b0fd44b942fee2c3477390d\">move to strip<\/a> the license until days after the AP inquired about the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New reporting has found that during his time in the private sector, Milione also served as a $600-per-hour expert for Purdue Pharma as it fought legal challenges from Ohio to Oklahoma over its aggressive marketing of OxyContin and other highly addictive painkillers. Milione left the DEA again in late June just four days after AP sought comment from the Justice Department about his prior work for Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23199582481189.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; The logo for pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma is seen out side its offices in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Louis Milione, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s second-in-command, has quietly resigned in 2023, amid reporting by The Associated Press that he previously consulted for a pharmaceutical distributor sanctioned for a deluge of suspicious painkiller shipments and did similar work for the drugmaker that became the face of the opioid epidemic: Purdue Pharma. (AP Photo\/Douglas Healey, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milione said in a statement this week that he stepped down for personal reasons unrelated to AP\u2019s reporting. Both he and the Justice Department said he recused himself at the DEA from all matters involving his private-sector work where there was even the appearance of a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milione added that his consulting stint helped drug companies comply with DEA rules, just as his return to government gave the DEA insight into how business decisions are made in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI care deeply about the DEA, its mission and the brave men and women that sacrifice so much to protect the American public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Milione never faced scrutiny from lawmakers over his consulting before taking the DEA\u2019s No. 2 position because the DEA has for more than a decade not filled the job of deputy administrator that requires a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Instead, the DEA directly hired Milione to fill a career position with essentially the same duties but a slightly different title \u2013 \u201cprincipal deputy administrator\u201d \u2013 that requires no such oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDEA has demonstrated a willingness to take painstaking measures to avoid the Senate\u2019s watchful eye \u2013 including by potentially using a technicality to shirk Senate confirmation of a key agency decision maker,\u201d said U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. \u201cAvoiding congressional oversight is a tired game the DEA can\u2019t stop playing. It begs the question: What else is the DEA trying to hide?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Coleman, who was head of operations for the DEA in the 1990s, said the Biden administration likely never nominated Milione to serve as deputy administrator, despite his many qualifications, because his conflicts would have surely raised questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSomeone at the agency had to be aware of the implications of bringing someone back who was employed in the industry regulated by the agency,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cIt was an obvious and classic conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DEA didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Internal email<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department told the AP that Milione disclosed his potential conflicts when he returned to the DEA and that the principal deputy administrator\u2019s position was created before Milgram\u2019s tenure. It said the process for filling the confirmed deputy administrator position is ongoing and referred further questions to the White House, which did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DEA made no announcement of Milione\u2019s most recent retirement but removed his bio from the agency\u2019s website over the July 4 holiday and replaced it with that of his successor, career DEA official George Papadopoulos. But in an internal email to staff, Milgram hailed the 60-year-old Milione as a \u201cDEA legend\u201d best known for leading the overseas sting that in 2008 nabbed Russia\u2019s notorious arms trafficker <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/viktor-bout-russian-arms-dealer-brittney-griner-2afb6b2096e40e5c6b6b1fd26b4fbba0\">Viktor Bout<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was thrilled that he agreed to come back home to DEA,\u201d she wrote in a June 26 email obtained by AP. \u201cLou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milione\u2019s exit adds to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/dea-corruption-fentanyl-cocaine-drugs-contracts-milgram-7fd24fe46c4b664f285773798357d418\">turmoil at the top of the DEA<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mostly Republican members of Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/dea-corruption-fentanyl-cocaine-drugs-contracts-milgram-4d7356f5c25d6eb67f8100a927470eae\">grilled Milgram<\/a> during a routine budget request in April, and the administrator also is expected to testify later this month in a House oversight hearing looking into the DEA\u2019s operations and effectiveness combating the flood of fentanyl into the U.S. from Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since Milgram took the reins of the DEA two years ago, she has cycled through almost three dozen senior aides, many of them veteran agents who were pushed out or quit due to differences with Milgram. That includes the heads of all of the DEA\u2019s principal divisions as well as the DEA\u2019s chief counsel, its congressional affairs liaison and the top agent in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2871\" height=\"1615\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg 2871w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23193662040262.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2871px) 100vw, 2871px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; In this image from video provided by C-SPAN, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram speaks during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science in Washington on May 10, 2023. At center left behind Milgram is Louis Milione. Milione\u2019s four years of consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA to serve as Milgram\u2019s top deputy, renewing concerns in the agency and beyond about the revolving door between government and industry and its potential impact on the DEA\u2019s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths. (C-SPAN via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milgram\u2019s defenders say that house cleaning is part of an agency-wide reset to combat the fentanyl crisis. She\u2019s also exhibited a zero tolerance for racism and sexism that has festered inside the old-boy network that has long shaped personnel decisions inside the DEA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cChange is hard and some people don\u2019t like it,\u201d Chuck Rosenberg, a former DEA administrator, told AP this spring. \u201cTime will tell whether she was right or wrong, but my money is on Anne.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of Milione\u2019s consulting work was done as a senior managing director of Guidepost Solutions, a private investigative firm based in New York. Under his watch, Guidepost expanded its DEA compliance practice, which now includes nine former DEA employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guidepost declined to comment. Purdue said in a statement that its retention of Milione as an expert on DEA compliance issues ended when the Connecticut-based company filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo the best of our knowledge, no one at Purdue had any business communications with Mr. Milione after he returned to government,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Purdue, which has twice pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for its role in fueling the opioid crisis and last year reached a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/opioid-crisis-purdue-settlement-bankruptcy-sackler-9d1f39c52d8d0f4f0c79960d930a5b84\">$6 billion nationwide settlement<\/a> aimed at staunching a flood of lawsuits from states, Milione produced a 16-page expert report in 2019 that was never introduced into evidence. That report, obtained by the AP, praises Purdue\u2019s efforts going back to 2000 to track the illegal sale of opioids by rogue pharmacies and \u201cpill mill\u201d doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are the kinds of programs DEA encourages and supports manufacturers in undertaking,\u201d Milione wrote, \u201cas it considers them a valuable part of diversion control efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former DEA official Coleman questioned why Milgram chose Milione as her No. 2 despite his corporate entanglements and whether it was ever realistic for him to be walled off from many of the position\u2019s leadership functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way to isolate that person from the day-to-day business of the agency, which includes regulating companies that make and distribute controlled substances,\u201d said Coleman, who is now president of Drug Watch International, a not-for-profit that seeks to reduce drug abuse. \u201cI don\u2019t see how that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Louis Milione\u2019s consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA, renewing concerns about the revolving door between government and industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[31,15,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2922,3003],"class_list":["post-25523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-management","category-leadership"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PJ3VPLHJXZGORFGYOHRBGVWFLU","arc_canonical_url":"\/management\/leadership\/2023\/07\/19\/deas-no-2-quits-amid-reports-of-consulting-work-for-big-pharma\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DEA\u2019s No. 2 quits amid reports of consulting work for Big Pharma - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Louis Milione\u2019s consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA, renewing concerns about the revolving door between government and industry.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DEA\u2019s No. 2 quits amid reports of consulting work for Big Pharma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Louis Milione\u2019s consulting for Big Pharma preceded his 2021 return to the DEA, renewing concerns about the revolving door between 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