A deputy commissioner with the Minnesota Department of Commerce was out of a job Wednesday after being arrested Tuesday during a prostitution sting in St. Paul.
Michael Shane Deal, 46, of Litchfield, Minn., was booked into the Ramsey County jail at 3:02 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of having committed a gross misdemeanor, soliciting prostitution, according to a police report.
On Wednesday, Deal's "appointment with the Commerce Department has ended, effective immediately," according to a statement from state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman. Rothman appointed Sarah Butler as acting deputy commissioner for financial institutions, a position in which Deal had served for more than three years.
St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said Dean was arrested during an undercover detail aimed at the demand for prostitution. Four other men also were arrested as part of the operation at a St. Paul hotel.
The cases remain under investigation, and could be presented to the city attorney's office later this week for charges, Linders said.
Linders declined to say how the operation was carried out, and whether money was exchanged or physical contact occurred before the arrests.
Deal's biography page on the state Department of Commerce website was no longer available Wednesday evening.
According to his LinkedIn page, he was deputy commissioner for financial institutions and before that worked in the banking sector for nearly 20 years. He was community bank president at Bank Midwest in New Ulm, and had a stint with Bremer Bank as a senior credit analyst and loan officer.
Deal could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
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