FBI probes killing of U.S. contractor

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Chicago Trib
Death follows kickback allegations

By Ken Silverstein, T. Christian Miller and Patrick McDonnell, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times. Miller and Silverstein reported from Washington and McDonnell from Baghdad
Published January 20, 2005


WASHINGTON -- A U.S. contractor gunned down last month in Iraq had accused Iraqi Defense Ministry officials of corruption days before his death, according to documents and U.S. officials.

Dale Stoffel, 43, was shot to death Dec. 8 shortly after leaving an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad, an attack attributed at the time to Iraqi insurgents. Also killed was a business associate, Joseph Wemple, 49.

The killings came after Stoffel alerted senior U.S. officials in Washington that Iraqi Defense Ministry officials were part of a kickback scheme involving a multimillion-dollar contract awarded to his company, Wye Oak Technology, to refurbish old Iraqi military equipment.

The FBI has launched an investigation into the killings and whether they might have been retaliation for Stoffel's whistle-blowing activities, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The FBI declined to comment.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0501200309jan20,1,5530250.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true