Pubdate: Wed, 03 Nov 1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: news, page 18 NEW HEAD OF DEA COMES FROM WITHIN President Clinton has picked a veteran agent to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Justice Department officials said Tuesday. Donnie Marshall, 52, is widely expected to win confirmation from the Senate and would be the first administrator in the agency's 25-year history to come from within. He has been serving as acting administrator since the July retirement of Thomas Constantine. Attorney General Janet Reno announced his pending nomination at a conference of police chiefs in Charlotte, N.S. Reno also said Clinton would name Julio Mercado as the DEA's deputy administrator, the agency's No. 2 position. If confirmed, Mercado, 50, now special agent in charge of the agency's office in Dallas, would be the agency's highest-ever ranking Hispanic, DEA agents said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea