S&L; Watchdog Reassigns Figure in Lincoln Case

Salvatore R. Martoche, acting head of the Office of Thrift Supervision, reassigned two top executives on Tuesday, including one who played a prominent role in the handling of Lincoln Savings & Loan Assn., based in Irvine.

Martoche, appointed by President Bush two weeks ago to temporarily fill the vacancy created by the resignation of M. Danny Wall, said he has consolidated the operations and policy functions of the agency’s office of supervision and named John Downey as acting senior deputy for supervision.

Downey replaced Darrel Dochow, who will serve as acting director of the Indianapolis office and will lead a task force analyzing the merits of consolidating some of the agency’s 12 district offices.

Dochow served under Wall as the agency’s senior deputy director for supervision operations and his name came up frequently in congressional hearings investigating the agency’s handling of Lincoln, the thrift seized by regulators last April.