Miss. Attorney Taken Off WorldCom Case

The U.S. attorney’s office in New York will take over the WorldCom Inc. investigation because the U.S. attorney in Jackson, Miss., Dunn Lampton, owns stock in the struggling long-distance company, the Justice Department said.

The investigation will be led by James B. Comey, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, department spokesman Bryan Sierra said.

A statement released by Lampton’s office said he and several members of his staff have been recused from the Justice Department’s review of WoldCom matters, but some members of that office will be allowed to work on the investigation which is to be “coordinated” by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued WorldCom this month after it revealed improper accounting methods.