Administrator of state public defender's office resigns

BILLINGS (AP) — The new chief administrator for the Office of the State Public Defender has resigned, saying he was meeting “palpable resistance” from program managers as he tried to cut costs to help the agency make up a $3.5 million budget shortfall.

Scott Cruse sent a letter of resignation to Public Defender Commission Chairman Richard “Fritz” Gillespie Nov. 16, less than three months after Cruse was hired.

Cruse said he was asked to solve a budget crisis the office leadership had ignored for over a year, but wasn’t given the authority to implement any changes.

“I have observed a business-a...