After years in the trenches of America's drug war, Drug Enforcement Administration chief John C. Lawn is heading to a new turf: overseeing operations for the New York Yankees baseball organization. ``He will be involved with all operational areas other than player personnel,'' Yankees spokesman Arthur Richman said Wednesday. Lawn, who announced Tuesday that he will retire as DEA chief on March 23 after 27 years in government service, will become vice president and chief of operations for the Yankees, he said. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner met Lawn in 1987 when the two were on a speaking panel before the World Business Council, said DEA spokesman Frank Shults. In addition, Lawn is a close personal friend of Phil McNiss, a retired FBI agent who is vice president of Steinbrenner's American Shipbuilding Co., the spokesman said. McNiss recommended Lawn ``very highly'' for the job, and was instrumental in his hiring, said Richman, senior vice president for the Yankees. Lawn's starting date with the Yankees remains uncertain, Richman said. ``Mr. Steinbrenner said he can take all the time necessary to assist President Bush in seeking and counseling a replacement,'' he said. Richman said Lawn would not be involved in any anti-drug activities with the Yankees. Shults described Lawn as ``very athletic,'' but said there was no indication he had any particular background in baseball. The DEA chief was a basketball coach when he taught English and American history at the Jesuit-run Brooklyn Preparatory School for seven years after leaving the Marine Corps and before beginning his law enforcement career, Shults said. In 1964, Lawn was named New York City's high school coach of the year, he said. Lawn joined the FBI in 1967 and was named DEA acting deputy administrator in 1982. President Reagan nominated him to the top DEA job in 1985 to replace Francis M. Mullen, who had retired.
