WASHINGTON, D. C. – Less than two weeks before leaving the office where he led national efforts to crack down on gun crimes as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Cleveland’s Steve Dettelbach hadn’t begun to pack.
Photos of the U.S. Attorney offices in Cleveland, Akron, Toledo and Youngstown, which he oversaw during Barack Obama’s presidency, were still on its walls. There was also a huge portrait of former Cleveland Safety Director Eliot Ness, who earned fame for bringing down Mafia kingpin Al Capone and his bootlegging operations.
He hadn’t stopped getting briefings each morning about arrests and cases, issuing reports about the work ATF’s more than 5,000 employees had done to thwart violent crimes, and searching Cavaliers game scores every morning to keep up with his favorite sports team…