Michigan Health Chief Is Target In Flint Criminal Probe

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A lawyer says Michigan's top public health official is a target in the criminal investigation of Flint's water crisis.

Nick Lyon, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services, received a letter in early September from investigators indicating he is a focus, his attorney Larry Willey said Tuesday.

Eight current or former state employees and one Flint worker have been charged in Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's probe.

The health agency is under scrutiny for its handling of a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area and allegedly suppressing information about elevated lead levels in children.

Lyon, a member of Gov. Rick Snyder's Cabinet, is the highest-ranking government official known to be under investigation.