Comments (43)

gcchung wrote on October 15, 2007 5:38 PM:

check all of Cheney's guns

ed shea wrote on October 15, 2007 5:43 PM:

what does it all mean?

Mark Jones wrote on October 15, 2007 5:50 PM:

How soon before the conspiracy nuts come out?

He was murdered and it was done by:

1. Hillary
2. Bill
3. The ghost of Vince Foster
4. All of the above

chisholm wrote on October 15, 2007 6:07 PM:

Mark Jones: Can't we have our Vince Foster too?

Anonymous wrote on October 15, 2007 6:22 PM:

Retired military, even those on the take, can sometimes surrender to their conscience. Was Riechers the canary in the coal mine?

Vulture Breath wrote on October 15, 2007 6:23 PM:

How terrible and sad. If he has a family, I hope they can get through this.

Moto wrote on October 15, 2007 6:46 PM:

Re: "check all of Cheney's guns"
The whole office is still laughing at that comment.

nofltwlt wrote on October 15, 2007 7:08 PM:

Finally, a GOP appointee with the balls to do the honorable thing when caught. All members of the GOP, the neocons and the Bush administration are encouraged to follow the lead of this guy.

Isn't it odd that there is no other way for the current crop of GOP members to achieve honor.

C92 wrote on October 15, 2007 7:15 PM:

Odd. Very odd.

His official bio is still up, but someone typed "Died October 13, 2007" at the top.

http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=9396

Reports have the man being found dead on 10/14. Does the Air Force absolutely know he died on the 13th?

And what an odd way to note his death. Why not just take the bio offline?

JimBob wrote on October 15, 2007 7:19 PM:

Next they'll tell us Ciara Durkin shot herself in the back of the head, execution-style. It's sure getting dangerous to be in the Air Force, these days, esp. if you're around the money.

chisholm wrote on October 15, 2007 7:28 PM:

Any more info on the actual discovery of the body? As in, who found him, etc.

I now think only the worst of this administration and what it is capable of.

Roberta wrote on October 15, 2007 7:34 PM:

This is terribly sad. But it's also infuriating.

The money Riechers apparently received is Tinkeytoys(R) compared to so many others. Major John Cockerham and family got millions, and Lieutenant Colonel Levonda Joey Selph allegedly gained way more than Reicher could have. And KBR? Iraqi officials? Alaska lawmakers? None of them feels bad enough to come clean, let alone kill themselves. (For the record: I don't want ANYONE to commit suicide.)

Let's not forget Col. Ted Westhusing. We've now got two military-related suicides with corruption at their core. This has to be stopped. Enough people are dying.

gypsy howell wrote on October 15, 2007 7:53 PM:

Suicide? Hmmm... I wonder.

And how is it that one of the Def Dept's 200 largest contractors is a "tax exempt charitable organization?"
How does that work?

Maybe we should ask Mr Riechers.

Oh wait, we can't.

Rodney Lamprey wrote on October 15, 2007 7:58 PM:

Defense procurement and finance has got to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the military these days due to the rash of "suicides".

Anonymous wrote on October 15, 2007 8:02 PM:

This is very sad. Prayers for his family and others who were close to him.

THROMULESE wrote on October 15, 2007 8:14 PM:

yea, he shot himself 10 times in the head. definetly a possible suicide

erica wrote on October 15, 2007 8:24 PM:

Hmm, seems to be a dangerous job. Somebody with the same job title was killed in a plane crash in '95.

WPAFB wrote on October 15, 2007 8:27 PM:

I am sorry but everyone on here making assumptions, is completely ignorant. Especially if this was your family member; as he is mine. It is amazing how fast people; reporters jump on a story with out knowing the actual facts of the story. It is amazing how reporters write things that stretch the truth. If you really think about it how many retired air force personnel work for government contractors? If you honestly took out all retired air force generals out of contracting business; the government contracting world would not be as successful as it is today. I can name numerous companies in the Midwest that have retired generals working for them. And what do they do, they do business development to them it may be referred to as really not doing anything but just getting a paycheck from them because they are doing networking..

WPAFB wrote on October 15, 2007 8:29 PM:

If you read the articles online and really understand the text need to know basis, it means intel folks! We do not divulge intel.

taohntane wrote on October 15, 2007 8:30 PM:

Commonwealth Research Institute. Earmark. Johnstown, PA. Murtha.

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/10/worst-job-in-th.html

kay cray wrote on October 15, 2007 8:57 PM:

I tried to e-mail TPMMuckraker about this story this earlier today, but my e-mail crapped out.

I was just wanting a reality check--Am I am turning into a conspiracy theorist because I think the man's suicide seems out of proportion to the scandal?

It's not like the connections that got him the no-show contracting gig couldn't find something else for him to do for the few years until would have been of retirement age. And after that, presumably, he would have been entitled to an Army pension after 20 years of service ( + Social Security, etc.). Why would the man rather die than live on (roughly) the average US income?

Is the problem that he gave the wrong answer to the question of what he was doing for the contractor? According to the DOD, the arrangement was business as usual, and he was providing valuable consulting services. If the DOD is lying, why should he be the one to commit suicide?

Ducktape wrote on October 15, 2007 9:02 PM:

WPAFB:"If you honestly took out all retired air force generals out of contracting business; the government contracting world would not be as successful as it is today."

Why would this not be a good thing? And why should we care that the government contracting world is "successful"? At doing what -- fat programs that fill their pockets with our tax dollars for questionable deliverables?

WPAFB:"I can name numerous companies in the Midwest that have retired generals working for them. And what do they do, they do business development to them it may be referred to as really not doing anything but just getting a paycheck from them because they are doing networking."

What they DO is make a "good old boys network" that takes care of its own on our nickel. That "networking" or "business development," as you call it, is nothing more than what goes on in a mobbed-up industry where no one gets to haul garbage unless they take on a bunch of wise guys doing "business development."

Yep, you've just confirmed my assumptions. As corrupt as I thought it was.

benjoya wrote on October 15, 2007 9:05 PM:

If you honestly took out all retired air force generals out of contracting business; the government contracting world would not be as successful as it is today.

yeah, that $9bn that disappeared in iraq was money well spent, no doubt. rob me again, please!

Moto wrote on October 15, 2007 9:15 PM:

A suicide isn't supicious unless there's THREE bullets in the head. Remember, Gary Webb's death (SJMN journalist that reported CIA involvement in crack trade) was ruled a suicide even though he was shot twice in the BACK of the head.

Dave Bowman wrote on October 15, 2007 9:45 PM:

I wonder what govt. contractors Jack D. Ripper and Buck Turgidson work for now?

bob wrote on October 15, 2007 10:12 PM:

none of you know a friggin thing about it, so shut the hell up

chard wrote on October 15, 2007 10:23 PM:

Moto.
Cite your source, please.

Chris Bray wrote on October 15, 2007 10:49 PM:

"We've now got two military-related suicides with corruption at their core."

If Riechers really is a corruption-related suicide, that makes at least four. Col. Westhusing, Lt. Col. Marshall Gutierrez (Sept. 2006), and Maj. Gloria Davis (Dec. 2006).

foggylady wrote on October 15, 2007 11:30 PM:

Makes 5.
Col. Westhusing, Lt. Col. Marshall Gutierrez (Sept. 2006), and Maj. Gloria Davis (Dec. 2006).
and
Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman , ruled suicide, 10 days after
Gutierrez died,.
Lannaman was assigned to work with a logistics group in Kuwait that purchased millions of dollars in supplies, same outfit Gutierrez worked for.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19about.html?pagewanted=print

Also see: http://www.lookingglassnews.org/viewstory.php?storyid=4648

TSop wrote on October 16, 2007 12:04 AM:

This is the guy who leaked about the missing nukes flown over the 'Heartland'.

TSop wrote on October 16, 2007 12:05 AM:

This is the guy who leaked about the nukes being flown over the 'Heartland' to the AFB down on the Gulf.

gypsy howell wrote on October 16, 2007 8:00 AM:

Please elaborate for us, bob @ 10:12 pm.

Moonbat Leah wrote on October 16, 2007 8:19 AM:

Did his death have any connection to the 'lost nukes' plane that wound up at the staging Iraq airbase? It is highly unlikely that this was an accident, IMHO.
It is simply impossible for this 'nuke plane' to have been 'lost' considering all the checks and personnel in place for tracking them. I believe it was no accident that it wound up at the airbase that supports our mideast operations.
Did this man have any involvement with this? How much contact did he have with Cheney?

nellieh/Amherst wrote on October 16, 2007 8:32 AM:

It's pumpkin season. Rep. Dan Burton (R-In)will solve this murder in his backyard. Shoot a couple of bullets into one and it is no longer a mystery. He is a one man CSI.

Anonymous wrote on October 16, 2007 11:54 AM:

Also note that Ciara Durkin of Quincy, Mass. was killed in Afghanistan on a secure air base (Bagram Airfield) in a non-combat related incident.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/10/03/kin_say_soldier_hinted_at_concerns/

willie wrote on October 16, 2007 12:16 PM:

Undoubtedly, Laura killed him to cover up the fact that they'd been having an affair.

footsore wrote on October 16, 2007 12:18 PM:

And now Randi Rhodes gets beaten up while walking her dog. What the hell is going on?
footsore

wagonjak wrote on October 16, 2007 1:18 PM:

Of course nothing in the MSM on this bombshell...just more Britney, OJ and fluff...

anon wrote on October 16, 2007 1:28 PM:

It's worth noting that Riechers was also very involved in the $40 billion aerial refueling tanker contract. IIRC, the refueling contract is still undecided. (Is that right? The repair contract was about $1.5 billion and the lease deal was about $23 billion. The main contract is mentioned as a $40 billion by several sources but, really?, $40 billion. Whoa.)

erica wrote on October 16, 2007 2:39 PM:

Well this is a very strange story indeed. On this thread alone, we have:

an allegation that Riechers was involved in intel. (From someone who identifies as a family member--a blood family or an FBI/CIA type family?)

allegations of significant corruption

a note that Riechers was infolved in the refueling tanker contract.

a statement that he's the guy who leaked the "lost bomber" story

a threatening warning to leave well enough alone.

There is a lot of background information that has not yet been reported. Right now it looks as if Riechers killed himself out of shame over being found doing nothing while waiting for his big contract to come through.

But, he WAS working--just not for the company that was paying him.

Riechers was also involved in a heated battle over unmanned aircraft contracts

http://integrator.hanscom.af.mil/2007/September/09062007/09062007-15.htm

What other work did he do, previously and recently? Did he have any connection with other significant issues--intelligence gathering, Able Danger, other types of controversial acquisitions/information?

Regarding the WP story, written by WP reporter Robert O Harrow Jr., I would like to know what prompted O Harrow to write this particular story, and what prompted Riechers to seemingly casually say that he didn't do anything for the company? Was he really doing some sort of intel work and got caught short without a cover story? (This seems unlikely.)

What was Riechers' state of mind? Did he have family? Was he unhappy about something?

We are missing a lot of facts. There are really 4 possibilities, 5 if you go really off the reservation:

1. Riechers committed suicide out of shame at having his name in the paper in such a nasty context.
2. Riechers committed suicide for other reasons.
3. Riechers was murdered for revealing the obvious.
4. Riechers was murdered for other reasons.
5. Riechers is not really dead. Ok, it is off the reservation but still technically possible given what we know.

I know it must be difficult for those who were close to this person to deal with speculation about his death, but if indeed there is more to the story, teasing out what really happened is a way of paying respect.

Definitely need more background.

wafassf wrote on October 25, 2007 9:15 PM:

Was he paid to praise???

Ron wrote on November 12, 2007 2:26 PM:

Hmmm. Sometimes I don't think this administration tells us everything.

sunshine wrote on January 4, 2008 11:43 AM:

Some folks here have too much time on their hands. Riechers was the father of an old friend of mine, and let me assure you, it was suicide, not some crackpot murder scheme, and yes, very terribly, he is sadly dead, to the horrible loss of all of us who had the chance to know him. If you want to know more about this, go google his name and read the articles you find. The situation is fairly clear from those articles.