Chief of SEC Office in Boston Steps Down

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Boston office resigned after criticism that his staff failed to follow up on a whistle-blower’s tip in the mutual fund scandal.

Juan Marcelino, 46, ran the Boston office for the last decade. He stepped down “given the recent press coverage of certain matters involving the Boston office, to minimize any further distraction for his staff,” the SEC said in a statement.

Former SEC lawyers said Marcelino was the first SEC staff member to be pushed out because of a political controversy in recent memory.

The SEC has come under fire for ignoring the tip from Putnam Investments employee Peter Scannell, who approached the SEC’s Boston office in March. After not hearing from the SEC for six months, Scannell took his allegations of improper trading at Putnam to Massachusetts regulators, who began a probe.

In the wake of the incident, SEC enforcement director Stephen Cutler sent a memo to his staff telling them to pay close attention to tips.