NEW NARCOTICS BUREAU DIRECTOR NAMED

Former TV Executive Must Be Confirmed By Senate

JACKSON - Former television executive Frank Melton, who has no law
enforcement experience, is the new director of the Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics.

Melton, 53, was picked by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to replace Don Strange Jr.,
who announced his resignation last month. Melton was the chief executive
officer for WLBT in Jackson, and is a board member of the Liberty
Corporation, which owns TV3.

He has been active in promoting anti-drug programs and in efforts to get
children off the streets.

Dennis Wood, assistant director of special operations at the Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics, had served as interim director of the agency.

Melton, 53, still needs to be confirmed by the Senate but he can begin
working immediately, a spokesman for Musgrove said.

Melton, who confirmed during a news conference Wednesday that he has no law
enforcement experience, said leadership was the most important quality he
brought to the table.

"I've been in TV for 27 years running the company, but that doesn't mean I
can do what you guys do," Melton told reporters when pressed about the
experience issue.

Mississippi law does not require the head of the narcotics bureau to have
law enforcement experience, according to Jonathan Compretta, special
assistant attorney general.

State code says the director must be a citizen of the state and complete a
course of study at a school operated by the U.S. Justice Department's
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

"I would like to be measured by the number of people we are able to help,"
said Melton, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin University in Texas.

Musgrove said he considered Melton "the right guy for the job. Part of
leadership is having a passion to make a difference."

Musgrove said he selected Melton because he was looking for three qualities
in his new director - management skills, an understanding of the
legislative process and an ability to work with law enforcement.

The new director said he plans to meet with field agents before discussing
the direction he would be taking with the drug enforcement agency.

Strange, 55, cited a lack of funding for his agency in announcing his
retirement.

A former chief of intelligence for the Drug Enforcement Administration,
Strange said at the time that he was offered a job as the director of the
Air Marshal Service in Atlanta for the new Department of Homeland Security,
but had not officially accepted it.