2 top aides leave EPA amid ethics investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) – Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is announcing the departure of two top aides amid ethics investigations at the agency.

Pruitt said Tuesday his security chief, Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, was retiring. Pruitt gave no cause, but Pruitt’s spending on security at the EPA is the subject of ongoing federal investigations.

Pruitt also announced the departure of Albert Kelly. Pruitt had put the former Oklahoma banker in charge of the EPA’s Superfund sites, overseeing the nation’s toxic waste cleanup program. That was after authorities banned Kelly from banking for life.