BLM 'disappointed' official took gifts

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The director of the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico is disappointed that a former agency official who oversaw one of the largest onshore minerals production areas in the United States took gifts from an oil company.

An investigation by the Interior Department says former Farmington BLM district manager Steve Henke took gifts from Williams Exploration and Production - golf tickets, lodging and meals - and solicited donations for his son's youth baseball teams.
Investigators found no evidence of any corrupt or official acts Henke took to benefit the company, and Henke is defending himself.

A spokesman for BLM state director Linda Rundell says she was "disappointed and angry" when she learned about the investigation. The agency says employees undergo annual ethics training and unethical behavior isn't tolerated.

(Last month the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, an industry lobbying group, hired Henke to be its new president.)