US SEC taps new interim inspector general

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Deputy Inspector General Noelle Maloney as interim inspector general to temporarily replace David Kotz, who is leaving the SEC for a job with a private investigative firm. Maloney will head the inspector general's office while the agency searches for a replacement, the SEC said. Kotz, 45, developed a reputation as a tough internal watchdog during his four-year tenure at the SEC.
He probed everything from the agency's failure to catch convicted Ponzi swindler Bernard Madoff to bungled SEC contracts and even pornography-watching by agency employees. But the hard-hitting lawyer has also drawn criticism from SEC staff who have complained his tactics have led to a culture of fear at the agency.