VA official steps down after theft of veterans' data
By WIRE REPORTS
May 31, 2006
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/article/0,1406,KNS_350_4738157,00.html
WASHINGTON - A Veteran Affairs deputy assistant secretary who didn't immediately
notify top officials about a theft of 26.5 million veterans' personal
information is stepping down, citing missteps that led to the security breach.
Michael H. McLendon, deputy assistant secretary for policy, said Tuesday he
would relinquish his high-level post on Friday. McLendon supervised the VA data
analyst who lost the data and is the first official to leave after VA Secretary
Jim Nicholson pledged to hold officials accountable after the May 3 burglary, in
which a government-owned laptop and disks were stolen from an agency analyst's
home in Maryland.