Prosecutors Threatened by LA US Attorney Over Public Corruption Unit shutdown

Note that they were investigating Republican Jerry Lewis (no relation) at the time that the office was closed, which my guess is a lot of the reason for this.

LA Times has the scoop:

But in interviews with The Times, several members of the disbanded unit challenged that explanation, saying the move was intended to punish lawyers for a perceived failure to produce and for bad-mouthing their boss, U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien.

The lawyers described a meeting last week in which an angry O'Brien derided attorneys in the office for working too few hours, filing too few cases and for speaking ill of him to subordinates.

They said O'Brien also threatened to tarnish their reputations if they challenged the official explanation for the unit's dismantling in conversations with reporters. Members of the unit contacted by The Times either spoke on the condition that they not be named or declined to comment. Several said they wanted to talk about the situation but feared reprisals if they did so.

Critics of the move said they were concerned that it would severely limit the office's ability to file long-term, complex corruption cases involving elected officials and other high-profile figures.