One of two Division of Motor Vehicles officials being investigated over a controversial hire is no longer with the agency.

Purnell Sowell was the supervisor of the License and Theft Bureau's Charlotte district office. DMV spokeswoman Marge Howell said all she knew was that he had left the DMV two days ago, reports Dan Kane.

Sowell, 49, would only say that he is seeking legal advice regarding his exit from the DMV. He had worked nearly 21 years for the state and had an annual salary of $71,867.

Sowell served on an interview panel that was to evaluate candidates for an emissions specialist job.

The position went to James Burgess, a former purchasing clerk at Progress Energy who was a childhood friend of bureau director John Robinson. Passed over was a State Highway Patrol mechanic, Hal Bunn, who had been teaching service station mechanics to do emissions inspections for nearly a decade.

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A top state Division of Motor Vehicles official announced today that he is retiring.

The announcement by John Robinson comes two weeks after two members of his staff were placed on investigatory leave as part of a probe into the hiring of his longtime friend, reports Dan Kane.

Robinson, 59, will retire June 14 after working for the state for 21 years. He is paid nearly $108,000 annually.

As director of the DMV's License and Theft Bureau, Robinson oversees roughly 200 employees. The bureau investigates theft and fraud involving vehicles and drivers, and it also runs the emissions inspections program.

DMV Commissioner Bill Gore said Robinson's retirement had nothing to do with an incident in which Robinson's childhood friend won a job as an emissions specialist last year. The friend, a former purchasing clerk for Progress Energy, won the job over a longtime State Highway Patrol mechanic who has been teaching mechanics to do emissions inspections for roughly a decade.

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