DEA Chief Tells Plan to Give Up Post

WASHINGTON —  Robert C. Bonner, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday that he will leave his government job to return to private law practice in Los Angeles.

He said the move, likely to occur about Oct. 1, is unconnected to a much-discussed proposal to merge the DEA into the FBI.

Bonner said that his decision appeared to surprise Atty. Gen. Janet Reno when he told her of it Monday. But he said Reno understood his desire to leave government after nearly 10 years of service--three as DEA chief and the remainder as a federal judge and U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

“This was my decision and my decision alone,” Bonner said of his departure. The move was unexpected because he had told DEA executives before last fall’s election that he regarded his post as nonpolitical and expected to remain if Clinton won the presidency.

A task force under Vice President Al Gore is said to have recommended that the DEA be merged into the FBI. A similar plan was rejected by three previous attorneys general, although the FBI was given drug enforcement responsibilities during the Ronald Reagan Administration.

A Justice Department source said that Reno is leaning toward approving the merger as a way of ending duplication and that some moves toward the union could be taken before the Gore report is released next month.

While Bonner said that the issue of the merger had not influenced his decision, he complained that “fragmentation” was hampering anti-drug forces.