Top Air Force procurement officer commits suicide under mysterious circumstances

[kpete]

Top Air Force procurement officer commits suicide under mysterious circumstances

And now, the guy who took the bribe, a guy who ought to be tanned, well rested, and feeling good from his free vacation bought and paid for by your taxpayer funded earmarks, is found dead in his home, of an apparent suicide. Usually when I come back from a 2 month paid vacation, I'm not feeling suicidal. Oh wait... I've never had a two month paid vacation from a company I never did any work for.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/15/20016/752

Top Air Force Official Dies in Apparent Suicide


By ERIC SCHMITT and GINGER THOMPSON
Published: October 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — The second-highest ranking member of the Air Force’s procurement office was found dead of an apparent suicide at his Virginia home Sunday, Air Force and police officials said today.

The official, Charles D. Riechers, 47, came under scrutiny by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month after the Air Force arranged for him to be paid $13,400 a month by a private contractor, Commonwealth Research Institute, while he awaited review from the White House of his appointment as principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition. He was appointed to the job in January.

..........................

Riechers received $26,788 from a private contractor, Commonwealth Research, while he awaited his government appointment. The Air Force says that he was "employed in a scientific and engineering technical assistance capacity to the Air Force and made recommendations that were instrumental in engineering our acquisition transformation and continuing the Air Force’s modernization of our aging fleet." An amazing job description, considering that Reichers' only interaction with the company, other than cashing their checks, was at a Christmas party:

Riechers said in an interview that his interactions with Commonwealth Research were limited largely to a Christmas party, where he said he met company officials for the first time.

"I really didn't do anything for CRI," said Riechers, now principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition. "I got a paycheck from them."

...

"We needed some way to kind of gap me," Riechers said about the temporary job.

The Air Force defended the arrangement, saying Riechers was well qualified to perform the work.

..............

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15cnd-contract.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Elspeth]

1. Is this another David Kelly thing?

I wonder what was really going on...

[soothsayer]

2. Blair bumped him off for talking about how the war evidence was 'sexed up';

i dunno why they offed this loser

[riderinthestorm]

3. Anyone have a link to the woman finance officer who was suspiciously killed recently?

I believe she was in the Army, and made warnings about her imminent demise and begged her family to be sure to investigate if she died...

There was another suspicious suicide elsewhere related to finances (and probable contractor fraud and the US military) if I can recall. Can anyone dredge up a link?

All of this smells.