Fornits
General Interest => Tacitus' Realm => Topic started by: Ursus on January 05, 2011, 12:10:39 PM
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Ex-Bush, Reagan official's body found dumped in landfill (http://http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/exbush-officials-body-dumped-landfill/)
Death ruled a homicide
By The Associated Press
Monday, January 3rd, 2011 -- 6:05 pm
The body of a military expert who served in three Republican administrations was found dumped in a landfill over the holiday weekend, and investigators said Monday they do not know who might have killed him.
John Wheeler III, 66, was last seen Dec. 28 on an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington. His body was found three days later, on New Year's Eve, as a garbage truck emptied its contents at the Cherry Island landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Wheeler, who served in Vietnam, helped lead efforts to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington.
The former Army officer lived in New Castle and worked as a consultant for The Mitre Corporation, a nonprofit based in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va., that operates federally funded research and development centers.
Police have determined that all the stops made Friday by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins in Newark, several miles from Wheeler's home.
"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler in a dispute over a couple's plans to build a new home in the historic district of Old New Castle where the victim lived.
Wheeler, the son of a decorated Army officer, was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He retired from the military in 1971.
Wheeler served as a special assistant to the secretary of the Air Force under President George W. Bush, and in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also was the first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
As the first chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Wheeler led the multimillion-dollar fundraising effort to create the memorial on Washington's National Mall.
Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs said Wheeler dedicated himself to ensuring that service members were given the respect they deserve.
"I know how passionate he was about honoring all who serve their nation, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice," Scruggs said in a statement released Monday.
In a forward for the book, "Reflections On The Wall: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Wheeler wrote that the beauty of the wall photos in the book comes from the black granite's reflective quality.
"Before construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, those of us working on the project knew the wall would be shiny and reflective," he wrote. "But no one anticipated the sharp, true, and expansive mirror quality of the wall. The high polish of the black granite surface reflects blue sky, green trees, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Dome, the Lincoln Memorial, and the expressive faces of visitors who approach the Wall."
Wheeler's military career included serving in the office of the secretary of defense and writing a manual on the effectiveness of biological and chemical weapons, which recommended that the United States not use biological weapons.
"He was a very humble kind of guy, actually," Marin said. "He was never the kind of person who would talk about all the wonderful things he did in his life."
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Sounds like a man who knew too much.
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Might be someone thought he knew to much; Or it might be someone thought he was not as appreciative of historical districts as he should be.
"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler in a dispute over a couple's plans to build a new home in the historic district of Old New Castle where the victim lived.
There are those who take that sort of thing very seriously.
Editing to add a thought: Maybe he knows what is killing the birds (and fish) in Louisiana, Arkansas and Sweden?
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He also was the first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
If I'm not mistaken, MADD was initially established by a bunch of program parents. Any Seedlings know this dude?
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duplicate...
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Might be someone thought he knew to much; Or it might be someone thought he was not as appreciative of historical districts as he should be.
"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler in a dispute over a couple's plans to build a new home in the historic district of Old New Castle where the victim lived.
There are those who take that sort of thing very seriously.
Editing to add a thought: Maybe he knows what is killing the birds (and fish) in Louisiana, Arkansas and Sweden?
:roflmao: ....not that I'm a insensitive snit but that was just to funny.
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Here's some more coverage...
Related Video: Ex-Pentagon official's body found in Del. landfill (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/videoplaylists/Ex-Bush_officials_body_found_in_Del_landfill.html)
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Posted on Tue, Jan. 4, 2011
Ex-Pentagon big found slain in Del. landfill (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110104_Ex-Pentagon_big_found_slain_in_Del__landfill.html)
By WILL BUNCH & JAN RANSOM · Philadelphia Daily News
[email protected] 215-854-2957
(http://http://media.philly.com/images/400*300/20110104_dn_0legny4p.jpg)
Wheeler
HE WAS a West Point-trained Vietnam War vet who spent the last three years of the George W. Bush administration as a top Air Force official working on highly sensitive projects like cyberwarfare that could be used against adversaries like Iran.
But that was just one résumé line in the remarkable career of John Wheeler III, 66 - a driving force behind the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and ex-secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Friends and authorities also said Wheeler could be hard-charging and contentious - as evidenced by a bitter, years-long and very public dispute with a neighbor in Old New Castle, Del., his primary home.
Sometime last week, someone murdered Wheeler, authorities said, and apparently threw his body in a Dumpster. The cause of death is still being investigated.
Initial reports had said Wheeler was supposed to have taken an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington, but as of last night it was unclear if he ever boarded.
In fact, no one has been able to account for Wheeler's whereabouts between last Tuesday and 10 a.m. Friday, when his body was found.
The shocking discovery was made on New Year's Eve morning, when Wheeler's remains were dumped at Wilmington's Cherry Island landfill out of a Waste Management trash truck that had just completed a route of commercial trash bins in Newark, Del.
The initial reports of Wheeler's death - which Delaware authorities have ruled a homicide - sound like something out of a Tom Clancy mystery novel.
Those in his shocked circle of friends are baffled at who would want him killed and why.
"It's just puzzling and astonishing," said James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, who had been close friends with Wheeler for some 30 years, since they worked together on a book on how Vietnam affected their generation.
"Jack was always very involved in the question of the military-civic connection," Fallows said, "and how the health of the nation and its populace depended on the health of and respect for the military."
The two men had most recently been in touch over Wheeler's latest crusade - seeking to get ROTC programs restored at the Ivy League universities.
Since the end of his most recent stint as a special assistant to the secretary of the Air Force, Wheeler worked as a consultant for a nonprofit defense outfit, the Mitre Corp., that develops technologies for the Defense Department.
Wheeler lived with his wife, Katherine Klyce - described by the Wilmington News Journal as owner of a handwoven Cambodian silk company that did business in Delaware and in New York City - several miles away in Old New Castle, a historic community on the Delaware River below Wilmington.
Wheeler and his wife were reportedly well-known in the neighborhood for a feud with an adjacent property owner who was planning a new home - now under construction - that Wheeler claimed would block his view of a park. The couple filed a lawsuit against the project in 2009.
"It was kind of the thing in a small town," Robert Meadus, 85, a neighbor, said last night. "The town was kind of divided."
Police were called to the construction site last Tuesday, the paper reported, over a report of a smoke bomb.
"There are so many things investigators are looking into," said Newark police Lt. Mark Farrall, adding that police were aware of Wheeler's lawsuit. "It is something they will look into."
In his work, Wheeler had been concerned with much higher-profile forms of conflict, including the possibility that cyberwarfare could be used to thwart Iran's ambition to construct a nuclear weapon.
In recent months, reporters from the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune had interviewed Wheeler on speculation about cyber attacks against Tehran's nuclear program.
Born into a military family, Wheeler rose to the rank of colonel in the Army and served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. He went on to earn degrees from Yale Law School and Harvard Business School.
But his crowning achievement was his work to raise money and build a political consensus for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and its project on the National Mall in Washington, which for years was marked by controversy over everything from its unorthodox design to its dark color.
"He was a very dedicated public servant," said Jan Scruggs, president and founder of the veterans' memorial fund. "He was deeply religious and interested in theology."
"He was a very emotional person, which I mean in a good way," said Fallows, who said that Wheeler's intense passion for anything he did was what allowed him to accomplish so much. Now, those who knew Wheeler are struggling to consider who would have wanted him to disappear.
"It would never enter my mind for anyone to be killed or murdered in that fashion and disposed of," said Meadus, his neighbor. "I mean, that was horrible. This is a very well-educated sophisticated man."
Anyone with information regarding the case should call Detective Nicholas Sansone at 302-366-7110 ext. 135.
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler in a dispute over a couple's plans to build a new home in the historic district of Old New Castle where the victim live
just exactly who WOULD be the sort of person,to wind up in a landfill? Condecending fuck. :nods:
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110104_Ex-Pentagon_big_found_slain_in_Del__landfill.html) left for the above article, "Ex-Pentagon big found slain in Del. landfill (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392036#p391664)" (by Will Bunch & Jan Ransom; Jan. 4, 2011; Philadelphia Daily News):
Posted 3:49 PM, 01/04/2011
Fallon also said of Wheeler: "He was a complicated man of very 'intense' (and sometimes 'changeable') 'friendships, passions' and causes." Interesting arching eyebrows.
— Designator V[/list]
Posted 11:40 PM, 01/04/2011
He initially had reservations about killing 3 million people in Vietnam, but later decided "Oh what the heck" and helped the American military do it. A minor league Robert McNamara.
— orange rhino[/list]
Posted 5:02 PM, 01/06/2011
— dogman5[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Tue, Jan. 4, 2011
Mysterious death in Del. of man long prominent in U.S. government (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110104_Mysterious_death_in_Del__of_man_long_prominent_in_U_S__government.html)
By John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea
Inquirer Staff Writers
(http://http://media.philly.com/images/200*240/20110104_inq_sbody04z-d.JPG)
John P. Wheeler 3d spent his life in public service. His body was found in a landfill.
He chose West Point over Yale, knowing he'd be sent to an unwinnable war. He survived Vietnam, then led the tumultuous effort to create a memorial on the National Mall.
He attended the best law and business schools, but he remained in public service. He helped the Pentagon plan for nuclear war in one century and cyber warfare in the next. He was the first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Now, Delaware authorities are trying to learn how and why John Parsons Wheeler 3d was killed.
His body was discovered on New Year's Eve in a landfill a few miles from his New Castle home. Police have few clues and are seeking the public's help.
On Dec. 28, Wheeler, 66, was scheduled to take an Amtrak train from his consulting job with a defense contractor, Mitre Corp., outside Washington, to the Wilmington stop. He never arrived home. His body was discovered in the landfill three days later.
Police ruled the case a homicide but would not say whether they had determined how Wheeler died.
"It's a total, total shock - beyond the pale for a community like New Castle," said Bayard Marin, a local lawyer who was representing Wheeler in a neighborhood land dispute. "I exchanged e-mails with him that afternoon, and it was all very routine. Nothing suspicious at all."
The killing drew national attention Monday because of the mysterious circumstances and because of the positions Wheeler had held in the nation's capital.
In addition to helping launch MADD and leading the organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Wheeler worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission on investigations of illegal insider trading and for the Pentagon on cutting-edge issues.
From 2005 to 2008, Wheeler was a special assistant to the secretary of the Air Force, and he helped create the Air Force Cyber Command.
A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale Law School as well as West Point, Wheeler created a Vietnam veterans job program for the administration of President Ronald Reagan and the Earth Conservation Corps for at-risk youth for the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
"Jack used his institutional pedigree to fight for causes that mattered to him," said his friend James Fallows, an author and writer for the Atlantic magazine.
Wheeler was "a complicated guy, emotional, but someone who really cared about doing the right thing," said Fallows, adding he worked with him on Wheeler's 1984 book, Touched With Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation.
Wheeler was profiled with other Vietnam veterans in Rick Atkinson's 1989 book, The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966.
Voted "most likely to succeed" his senior year in high school, Wheeler gave up a scholarship offer from Yale, his mother's choice, and picked West Point, where his father had matriculated.
"A few cadets - Jack Wheeler among them - had doubts about this war," Atkinson wrote, "but they prudently kept their questions to themselves." After the war, Wheeler said "Vietnam reminded him of a huge trampoline with a half-million Americans bouncing around on it uncontrollably."
He nevertheless stayed true to the military, Atkinson wrote. Wheeler framed an epigram a West Point instructor had given him: "War is my business; business is good."
After Vietnam, Wheeler worked at the Pentagon producing and analyzing nuclear-war games. According to Atkinson's book, Wheeler wrote a study that played a role in President Richard M. Nixon's 1969 decision to renounce biological weapons.
When it came time to leave the Army, Atkinson wrote, Wheeler asked friends and family these questions: "What's best for the Army? What's best for the country?"
It was a philosophy, neighbors said Monday, that he brought to New Castle five years ago.
Despite Wheeler's impressive resume and regular commute from small-town New Castle to big-city Washington, neighbors remembered him as considerate and humble.
"Whenever we went to a restaurant, he was the kind of guy who always found out about the server's background and asked how business was going," said neighbor Robert Dill.
Dill said he mentioned to Wheeler recently that one of his sons was fascinated with the giant military transport planes known as C-5s. Wheeler arranged for a tour at a base. "You would have thought the president was with us," Dill said of the reception he and his sons and grandchildren received.
It was Wheeler's passion for history, neighbors said, that put him and his wife, the textile executive Katherine Klyce, at odds with a couple building a home across from his three-story red brick duplex in a historic part of New Castle. The new home was too large for the location and would block views, the Wheelers argued in a court filing.
Marin, the lawyer for the Wheelers, said he doubted the dispute was related to Wheeler's death. "There's always hard feelings about the other side in a case like this, but there was never any personal animosity," he said.
Still, he said he hoped federal authorities become involved in the case, given Wheeler's long connection to the federal government.
An FBI spokesman, Special Agent Rich Wolf, said the bureau was "aware of the murder but not involved at this time."
Newark Police Lt. Mark A. Farrall said his department was seeking information on Wheeler's whereabouts from Dec. 28 through 31. He said an autopsy showed "the body was not in the Dumpster for a long period of time."
Police in Wilmington went to the Cherry Island Landfill at 9:56 a.m. Friday for a report of a body being dumped from a Waste Management refuse truck. Investigators determined that the truck had made numerous pickups in Newark, starting at 4:20 a.m.
Police said the body's location suggested it had been picked up early in the route.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact Newark Detective Nicholas Sansone at 302-366-7110, Ext. 135.
The Wheeler family issued a statement Monday requesting privacy and declining interview requests: "This is a tragic time. . . . We are grieving our loss."
Contact staff writer John Shiffman at 301-320-6655 or [email protected].
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Much of the same material is reworked into the following piece:
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
B R E A K I N G · N E W S
Sighting reported of ex-Pentagon official before death (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/112870914.html)
Posted on Tue, Jan. 4, 2011
By John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
(http://http://media.philly.com/images/300*225/parsons_house_400.jpg)
John Parsons Wheeler 3d's house in New Castle, Del. While Wheeler was involved in a land dispute with a neighbor, his lawyer said he doubted the dispute was related to the slaying.
The prominent retired Army officer whose body was found in a Delaware landfill on New Year's Eve was spotted near a building that includes federal offices in Wilmington before his death, police said this morning.
The announcement came as an FBI spokesman said the bureau planned to "offer technical assistance" in the homicide investigation of John Parsons Wheeler 3d.
The spokesman, Rich Wolf, declined to elaborate. In FBI parlance, the term "technical assistance" often refers to forensic assistance, and does not mean the FBI is conducting a full investigation.
Wheeler, a driving force behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and former senior Pentagon official, was found dead on New Year's Eve in a landfill a few miles from his New Castle home.
On Dec. 28, Wheeler, 66, was scheduled to take an Amtrak train from his consulting job with a defense contractor, Miter Corp., outside Washington, to the Wilmington stop. His body was discovered in the landfill three days later.
This morning, the police announced that he had been spotted about 3 p.m. Dec. 30 near 10th and Orange Streets in Wilmington, a block that includes the offices of the U.S. Attorney and Justice Department. The police statement did not say how he was spotted or if he was traveling with anyone. Police were not immediately available to comment.
Police ruled the case a homicide but would not say whether they had determined how Wheeler died.
"It's a total, total shock - beyond the pale for a community like New Castle," said Bayard Marin, a local lawyer who was representing Wheeler in a neighborhood land dispute. "I exchanged e-mails with him that afternoon, and it was all very routine. Nothing suspicious at all."
The killing drew national attention Monday because of the mysterious circumstances and because of the positions Wheeler had held in the nation's capital.
In addition to helping launch MADD and leading the organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Wheeler worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission on investigations of illegal insider trading and for the Pentagon on cutting-edge issues.
From 2005 to 2008, Wheeler was a special assistant to the secretary of the Air Force, and he helped create the Air Force Cyber Command.
A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale Law School as well as West Point, Wheeler created a Vietnam veterans job program for the administration of President Ronald Reagan and the Earth Conservation Corps for at-risk youth for the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
"Jack used his institutional pedigree to fight for causes that mattered to him," said his friend James Fallows, an author and writer for the Atlantic magazine.
Wheeler was "a complicated guy, emotional, but someone who really cared about doing the right thing," said Fallows, adding he worked with him on Wheeler's 1984 book, Touched With Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation.
Wheeler was profiled with other Vietnam veterans in Rick Atkinson's 1989 book, The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966.
Voted "most likely to succeed" his senior year in high school, Wheeler gave up a scholarship offer from Yale, his mother's choice, and picked West Point, where his father had matriculated.
"A few cadets - Jack Wheeler among them - had doubts about this war," Atkinson wrote, "but they prudently kept their questions to themselves." After the war, Wheeler said "Vietnam reminded him of a huge trampoline with a half-million Americans bouncing around on it uncontrollably."
He nevertheless stayed true to the military, Atkinson wrote. Wheeler framed an epigram a West Point instructor had given him: "War is my business; business is good."
After serving in Vietnam, Wheeler worked at the Pentagon producing and analyzing nuclear-war games. According to Atkinson's book, Wheeler wrote a study that played a role in President Richard M. Nixon's 1969 decision to renounce biological weapons.
When it came time to leave the Army, Atkinson wrote, Wheeler asked friends and family these questions: "What's best for the Army? What's best for the country?"
It was a philosophy, neighbors said Monday, that he brought to New Castle five years ago.
Despite Wheeler's impressive resume and regular commute from small-town New Castle to big-city Washington, neighbors remembered him as considerate and humble.
"Whenever we went to a restaurant, he was the kind of guy who always found out about the server's background and asked how business was going," said neighbor Robert Dill.
Dill said he mentioned to Wheeler recently that one of his sons was fascinated with the giant military transport planes known as C-5s. Wheeler arranged for a tour at a base. "You would have thought the president was with us," Dill said of the reception he and his sons and grandchildren received.
It was Wheeler's passion for history, neighbors said, that put him and his wife, the textile executive Katherine Klyce, at odds with a couple building a home across from his three-story red brick duplex in a historic part of New Castle. The new home was too large for the location and would block views, the Wheelers argued in a court filing.
Marin, the lawyer for the Wheelers, said he doubted the dispute was related to Wheeler's death. "There's always hard feelings about the other side in a case like this, but there was never any personal animosity," he said.
Still, he said he hoped federal authorities become involved in the case, given Wheeler's long connection to the federal government.
Newark Police Lt. Mark A. Farrall said his department was seeking information on Wheeler's whereabouts from Dec. 28 through 31. He said an autopsy showed "the body was not in the Dumpster for a long period of time."
Police in Wilmington went to the Cherry Island Landfill at 9:56 a.m. Friday for a report of a body being dumped from a Waste Management refuse truck. Investigators determined that the truck had made numerous pickups in Newark, starting at 4:20 a.m.
Police said the body's location suggested it had been picked up early in the route.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact Newark Detective Nicholas Sansone at 302-366-7110, Ext. 135.
The Wheeler family issued a statement Monday requesting privacy and declining interview requests: "This is a tragic time. . . . We are grieving our loss."
Contact staff writer John Shiffman at 301-320-6655 or [email protected].
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Hampton Roads
Man who helped get Vietnam wall built found slain (http://http://hamptonroads.com/2011/01/man-who-helped-get-vietnam-wall-built-found-slain)
The Associated Press
© January 4, 2011
By Randall Chase
(http://http://media.hamptonroads.com/cache/files/images/583811.jpg)
In this May 17, 1994 file photo, John Wheeler III touches the name of a friend engraved in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Wheeler's body was discovered Dec. 31, 2010 as a waste management truck emptied its contents at the Wilmington, Del.-area landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, File)
DOVER, Del.
A military expert who served three Republican presidents and helped get the Vietnam Veterans Memorial built as part of his dedication to those who fought in that war was found dead in a landfill, and authorities are trying to piece together when he was last seen alive.
The body of John Wheeler III, 66, was uncovered Friday when a garbage truck emptied its contents at the Cherry Island landfill in Wilmington. The truck had collected the trash from about 10 commercial disposal bins in Newark, several miles from Wheeler's home in the historic district of New Castle, but police said they aren't sure which container his body came from.
Police he was seen alive in downtown Wilmington less than 24 hours before his body was found in the landfill. Newark police said Tuesday that Wheeler was seen about 3:30 p.m. Thursday near the Hotel du Pont, blocks away from the office of an attorney who was representing Wheeler and his wife in a property dispute.
Wheeler's remains were found about 10 a.m. Friday. Police say he was killed.
The spot where Wheeler was seen is less than a mile from the Wilmington train station. Wheeler is believed to have used Amtrak for trips in and out of the nation's capital.
Friends say they traded e-mails with Wheeler — who had not been reported missing — around Christmas. Wheeler also had been scheduled to take an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington on Dec. 28, but it's not clear if he ever made the trip, said investigators, who have labeled Wheeler's death a homicide.
Family members may not have reported him missing because they were out of town, Newark police spokesman Lt. Mark Farrall said.
Efforts by The Associated Press to contact his wife, Katherine Klyce, were unsuccessful, but his family issued a statement through the police department.
"As you must appreciate, this is a tragic time for the family. We are grieving our loss. Please understand that the family has no further comment at this time. We trust that everyone will respect the family's privacy."
Wheeler followed in his decorated father's footsteps and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After graduating in 1966, in the midst of the Vietnam War, he served five years in the Army, including as a staff officer at the Pentagon, and retired from the military in 1971.
In later years, Wheeler, as special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration, helped develop the Air Force Cyber Command. A citation for his service in 2008 said Wheeler recognized that the military needed to combat the growing vulnerability of U.S. weapon systems to cyber intrusions, according to his biography.
Longtime friend and fellow West Point graduate Richard Radez said that in an e-mail the day after Christmas, Wheeler wrote he believed the nation wasn't sufficiently prepared for cyber warfare.
"This was something that had preoccupied him over the last couple of years," Radez said.
Wheeler's house in New Castle was dark Monday night and no one answered the door. Yellow police evidence tape was stretched across two wooden chairs in the kitchen, where several wooden floorboards were missing.
According to The News Journal of Wilmington, Ron Roark, who has lived next door to Wheeler for seven months, said Monday he had met Wheeler only once and rarely saw him. But for four days around Christmas, he said he and his family heard a loud television in Wheeler's home that was constantly on, but no one appeared to be home.
"It was so loud, we could hear it through the walls, and we found that strange," Roark told the newspaper.
Though the police have searched the home, it was not considered a crime scene, Farrall said.
"We don't have a crime scene at this point," said Farrall.
In New York City, a doorman at the building where Wheeler and Klyce shared a condominium, said he hadn't seen Klyce in two weeks and a package for her had been at the front desk for days. He said two detectives were at the condo in the Harlem section of the city.
New York City police said they couldn't immediately confirm that they were involved in the investigation. Telephone messages left for Klyce at the New Castle home were not immediately returned.
Wheeler spent much of his post-Army career in Washington, D.C. For eight years from 1978 to 1986, he was special counsel to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
During those years, he also created the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program for President Ronald Reagan and was chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund that helped get the wall built. It is one of the most popular monuments in Washington, D.C.
Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs said Wheeler dedicated himself to ensuring that service members were given respect.
"I know how passionate he was about honoring all who serve their nation, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice," Scruggs said in a statement.
In a foreword for the book, "Reflections On The Wall: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Wheeler wrote that the beauty of the wall photos in the book comes from the black granite's reflective quality.
"Before construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, those of us working on the project knew the wall would be shiny and reflective," he wrote. "But no one anticipated the sharp, true, and expansive mirror quality of the wall. The high polish of the black granite surface reflects blue sky, green trees, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Dome, the Lincoln Memorial, and the expressive faces of visitors who approach the Wall."
James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, says he had known Wheeler since the early 1980s, and wrote on the magazine's website that Wheeler spent much of his life trying to address "what he called the '40-year open wound' of Vietnam-era soldiers being spurned by the society that sent them to war."
Wheeler also spent some time self-employed and recently was a consultant for The Mitre Corp., a nonprofit based in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va., that operates federally funded research and development centers.
Wheeler's military career included serving in the office of the Secretary of Defense and writing a manual on the effectiveness of biological and chemical weapons. He recommended that the U.S. not use biological weapons. Wheeler earned a master's at Harvard Business School and a law degree from Yale, according to his biography.
He also was the second chairman and chief executive officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler and Klyce in a legal dispute with a couple wanting to build a home near theirs in the historic district.
"He was a very aggressive kind of guy, but nevertheless kind of ingratiating, and he had a good sense of humor," Marin said.
Fallows told The Associated Press that in e-mails over Christmas, Wheeler also was concerned about getting ROTC programs restored at prestigious universities such as Harvard and Stanford. Schools dropped the programs as a result of Vietnam.
Robert Meadus, 85, who lives near Wheeler's New Castle home, described the death as "exceedingly weird."
"The more you think about it, the more implausible it becomes. ... It's a Perry Mason thing for sure."
Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington, David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md., and Cristian Salazar in New York City contributed to this story.
© 1993-2011, HamptonRoads.com
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Comment (http://http://hamptonroads.com/2011/01/man-who-helped-get-vietnam-wall-built-found-slain) left for the above article, "Man who helped get Vietnam wall built found slain (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392120#p392115)" (by Randall Chase; Jan. 4, 2011; AP / Hampton Roads):
John Wheeler, III
Submitted by Capt. Stu on Tue, 01/04/2011 at 2:01 pm.
He was also one of the main characters in Rick Atkinson's book, Long Gray Line. This book was about the trials & tribulations of West Point's Class of 1966. '66 was the class most decimated by the war in Southeast Asia. The book is a good read, too bad a post script has just been added to it.
Stuart Wade
© 1993-2011, HamptonRoads.com
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and now-
Former Hill staffer, wife of White House aide, dies in burning car
http://http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/10/former-hill-staffer-wife-of-white-house-aide-dies-in-burning-car/
By: CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry
Washington (CNN) - Lobbyist and former Congressional aide Ashley Turton, wife of a top White House staffer, was killed Monday in an early morning fire in her garage, according to sources familiar with the still-unfolding investigation.
D.C. Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer would not confirm the identity of the victim but said the first emergency calls came in around 5 a.m. ET. He said "the main theory now is that this was a crash event and then a fire" in the garage adjacent to Turton's home on Capitol Hill.
Other sources familiar with the investigation identified the victim as Ashley Turton, wife of Dan Turton, a staffer on President Obama's Congressional liaison staff. The couple has three very young children who were at home sleeping during the fire but were all brought to safety.
These sources said they believe that Ashley Turton, who was a lobbyist for Progress Energy, was heading to her job extremely early because of work connected with her company's merger with Duke Energy.
Turton's death shook up a close-knit political community already reeling from Saturday's shooting in Tucson that claimed the life of an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, and five other people.
"My heart goes out to my longtime friend and former colleague, Dan, and their three sweet children," Shanti Stanton, a lobbyist who previously served as a top aide to then-House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Missouri), told CNN in an e-mail. "Ashley was a dear, dear friend and the rock of her family. She was beloved by everyone who knew her."
Stanton said she and other former Congressional aides were still struggling to comprehend the tragic news about Turton, who was a longtime aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, and met her future husband while he was serving as an aide to Gephardt.
"It's hard for me to put my feelings into words at this moment," Stanton wrote in the email about Turton. "I miss her so much already. She was a beautiful, happy, witty, intelligent; generous (I could go on forever) person. She was always there for her family and friends and it is going to take me a very long time to accept she is gone. It is truly devastating and I feel a large hole in my heart."
Fire department officials noted the fire was confined mostly to the garage, with some heat and smoke damage to the house. But the garage is situated in such a way that the rest of the family inside the house probably did not know the car had caught fire.
"Initially when fire crews arrived on the scene the people in the house said all were accounted for, an adult and several kids," Piringer said of Dan Turton and the children.
But Piringer said after the fire was put out and the heavy smoke was cleared from the garage, they found the person's body in the car.
– CNN's Paul Courson and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
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Sounds like a man who knew too much.
Philly.com is running a poll:
John Wheeler 3d's death was . . .
- An accident.
[li]Foul play.
View results (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/polls/113084284.html)[/li][/list]
-
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Wed, Jan. 5, 2011
Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110105_Man_found_in_landfill_tied_to_arson_attempt.html?page=1&c=y)
Source: John P. Wheeler 3d planted incendiary devices at a neighbor's home in Del. days before his disappearance.
By John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea
Inquirer Staff Writers
(http://http://media.philly.com/images/300*213/20110105_inq_sbody05-a.JPG)
The Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington, where the body of John P. Wheeler 3d was found Friday. Police searched there again Tuesday. The landfill employs spotters to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer[/list]
Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder, a law enforcement source has told The Inquirer.
Police found evidence linking John Parsons Wheeler 3d to devices planted at the New Castle home of a neighbor with whom he had been feuding, said the source, who is close to the investigation. The feud was over the size of the neighbor's house, which was under construction in the city's historic district.
The source emphasized that the evidence does not shed light on the murder itself, but it has helped detectives understand Wheeler's state of mind before he disappeared.
Wheeler was found dead in a landfill on Friday, and the police have trying to retrace his movements between Dec. 28 and then.
On Tuesday, police said a witness had come forward to say that Wheeler had been spotted alive in downtown Wilmington on Thursday afternoon. That is less than 24 hours before his body was found in a Wilmington landfill in refuse that came from trash bins in one of 10 possible locations in Newark, Del.
The case has drawn national attention - Newark police received roughly 70 media calls Tuesday - because Wheeler, 66, lived such a distinguished public life.
A Vietnam veteran who became a driving force behind the controversial memorial on the National Mall, Wheeler worked on nuclear, chemical, and cyber issues at the Pentagon. He was the first chief executive officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a tireless advocate for veterans.
Wheeler left his office outside Washington on Dec. 28. His body was found in Wilmington on Friday. He was scheduled to take a Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington on Thursday.
Detectives were able to verify that Wheeler had been seen Thursday near 10th and Orange Streets - close to the Hotel du Pont - but a police spokesman declined to say how this was confirmed. An executive at the nearby DuPont Corp. headquarters, which employs outdoor surveillance cameras, said that the company had "cooperated" with the police but declined to elaborate.
Police say they have no suspects and have released few details about the slaying - in part because they themselves have so many unanswered questions, including where the killing took place.
"We're still trying to [find] the crime scene," said Newark police spokesman Mark A. Farrall. "We're working a lot of leads."
Farrall has said that Wheeler died shortly before his body was discovered Friday, but has not described how Wheeler died - whether, for example, his death was caused by gunshot, bludgeoning, or some other violent act.
An official cause of death will not be released until "toxicology reports and other forensic studies" are completed, said Carl Kanefsky, a spokesman for the medical examiner.
"It's quite a mystery, and the length of time it's taking to solve it makes it more intriguing," said Bayard Marin, a lawyer who represented Wheeler in a dispute over a neighbor's plans to build a large house in New Castle's historic district.
The Wheelers tried to halt those plans in court, contending the house was too big for the neighborhood.
The incendiary devices were placed at the neighbor's home last week, police said, days before Wheeler returned from his part-time consulting job for the defense contractor Mitre Corp., located in McLean, Va., outside Washington.
Marin said he did not know if the devices or Wheeler's death had any connection to the building dispute, but he said tempers in the court case never rose to acrimonious levels.
Marin said he was interviewed by police Tuesday for 45 minutes, but he would not say what detectives asked. "I guess they are just gathering all the miscellaneous facts and hoping to tie them together to find something they can make of it," he said.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, police on Tuesday searched the condominium that Wheeler and his wife had shared in a brick building on 124th Street for at least three years, the Associated Press reported.
Wheeler's widow, Katherine Klyce, who operates an international textile company with ties to New York and Cambodia, is unavailable for comment, according to a family statement.
The FBI on Tuesday offered "technical assistance" to the police, said FBI spokesman Rich Wolf. He declined to elaborate, but in FBI parlance, the term "technical assistance" typically refers to forensic assistance. It does not mean the FBI is conducting a full investigation.
In Delaware, authorities returned to the Cherry Island Landfill on Tuesday but kept reporters at bay.
Farrall, the police spokesman, said only, "We're looking for anything that might be of evidentiary value."
Sanitation crews used an alternative site at Cherry Island on Tuesday, so that police could comb the area where the body was found without interruption, said F. Michael Parkowski, a spokesman for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority.
Parkowski said it was not surprising that workers had discovered Wheeler's body in time to retrieve it from the landfill. He said truck drivers as well as workers known as "spotters" are trained to watch garbage for suspicious items as it is dumped at the site.
The defense contractor that had employed Wheeler part time since 2009 issued a short statement Tuesday. "At this time our thoughts are with his family," Mitre said.
The statement said Wheeler's work for Mitre consisted of "providing part-time support to outreach activities aimed at promoting discussions among government, industry, and academia on cyber defense topics." Company spokeswoman Jennifer J. Sherman declined to further explain his duties.
The cause of Wheeler's death - if it has been determined - is likely driving the focus of the investigation, said Michael Carbonell, a former FBI agent who supervised the agency's violent-crime squad in Philadelphia.
"If he died by blunt-force trauma or was shot, it tells us it was probably a random street crime, but if he's strangled, that's different," said Carbonell, who emphasized that he was merely speculating on the basis of his decades with the FBI.
The biggest publicly known clue, Carbonell said, is that the killer or killers apparently tried to hide Wheeler's corpse by placing it in a trash bin.
"Guys who rob and shoot a guy do that and run," Carbonell said. "Somebody went to some extra effort to dispose of the body."
Contact staff writer John Shiffman at 301-320-6655 or [email protected].
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110105_Man_found_in_landfill_tied_to_arson_attempt.html) left for the above article, "Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392278#p392277)" (by John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea; Jan. 5, 2011; The Philadelphia Inquirer), #s 1-20:
Posted 5:43 AM, 01/05/2011
That must have been one heck of view that was being blocked...
— TomTheCork[/list]
Posted 11:42 AM, 01/05/2011
This comment has been deleted.
— Bob L.9[/list]
Posted 1:17 PM, 01/05/2011
Hey BOB L.9
do you really think linking to your crazy, wacko conspiracy site a 1000 times is going to make it more believable?
— Coffeebreak[/list][/list]
Posted 6:02 AM, 01/05/2011
His state of mind was quite distraught. It was like he was getting an unwanted divorce from that view. Estranged spouses often go through a murderous mental period.
— iluvsativa[/list]
Posted 6:10 AM, 01/05/2011
conspiracy. it is difficult to believe a man of this character would chuck it all for a dispute with a neighbor.
— Miss M[/list]
Posted 6:24 AM, 01/05/2011
— your_mom_says_hi![/list]
Posted 6:31 AM, 01/05/2011
what so special about downtown new castle? had a friend whose parents lived there years ago and they were always involved in disputes with neighbors over their property, house renovations, all minor tiny BS. amazing how these wierdos will fight for their little slice of heaven.
— belocki[/list]
Posted 6:35 AM, 01/05/2011
Well, now we know why he was seen wearing only one shoe. Sounds like he was mugged. Don't know why he did not call the police.
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 6:38 AM, 01/05/2011
A man of character? This is a person who, we read yesterday, subscribed to the "war is good business" school, whose dean is the indescribable Dick Cheney. Not a sign of character in my book. Don't buy the public adulation until you've seen the private man.
— Dave Clemens[/list]
Posted 6:42 AM, 01/05/2011
"If he died by blunt-force trauma or was shot, it tells us it was probably a random street crime" - huh? A "random" street crime of a former aide to a president, currently a defense contractor consultant, connections to the pentagon and other high-ranking government offices and he's the victim of a random street crime if he was shot or beaten? When's the last time a "random" street crime included disposing the body in a landfill and being so good about hiding evidence that the FBI offers up forensic assistance?
— poger67[/list]
Posted 6:51 AM, 01/05/2011
No one saw him on the train to Wilmington? In the train station? Did he carry anything in his briefcase that was important? Pentagon secrets?
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 7:03 AM, 01/05/2011
Am I the only one that thinks it odd this man did not contact police after being assaulted? He was more interested in finding his car? Nobody saw him on the train?
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 12:08 PM, 01/05/2011
Anything or anyone so high and mighty sometimes thinks they are gods. Politicians or their covorts especially..they all start thinking they are above the law! Shame he was propably a wolf in sheeps clothing.
— Phillygrlatheart[/list]
Posted 9:59 AM, 01/06/2011
Wow, Phillygrl, you've cracked the case! He must have thought he was a god, but he was, in fact a wolf in sheep's clothing. Someone should fill in the authorities on this one.
— seconnol[/list][/list]
Posted 7:22 AM, 01/05/2011
— Miss M.: a man of character? He worked for Bush. Guess if you can waterboard, you can plant bombs too.
— former Mt.Airy Kid[/list]
Posted 7:35 AM, 01/05/2011
This was a professional hit. Period. We'll never know why.
— The Monk[/list]
Posted 7:42 AM, 01/05/2011
i don't know, something is just not right here. he may have been a "prominent" man, but certainly not one of character. let's not gloss over the fact that he was willing to blow up his neighbor's home. i'm sure many more of his misdeeds will be coming to light as this story unfolds.
— meshybell[/list]
Posted 7:43 AM, 01/05/2011
Appears there were two crimes committed at different times. The mugging. The murder that happened later. Sounds like the victim wanted to avoid talking to police. Why? Why?
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 7:45 AM, 01/05/2011
Sounds like he was messing with the wrong "family"......
— Mark1npt[/list]
Posted 8:09 AM, 01/05/2011
Was the victim drunk? Why did he forget where he parked his car after arriving on the train in Wilmington? Is this not strange behavior for a prominent person?
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110105_Man_found_in_landfill_tied_to_arson_attempt.html) left for the above article, "Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392278#p392277)" (by John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea; Jan. 5, 2011; The Philadelphia Inquirer), #s 21-40:
Posted 8:09 AM, 01/05/2011
This BS sounds as bad as the single bullet theory! Who wrote the report Arlene Spector? People with his connections get knocked off because they know to much! They get sent to the landfill for a reason! This is how they deal with whistle blowers! You will never know the truth!
— edith bunker[/list]
Posted 8:10 AM, 01/05/2011
Sounds to me like the incendiary devices in the neighbors home is a frame up. When the hired hitman botched the disposal so that he didn't just disappear, the next step is a character assassination, to make it look like his end was the logical conclusion of a wayward lifestyle.
— Mirror[/list]
Posted 8:20 AM, 01/05/2011
It's really sad that left wing Demokooks (like "Dave Clemens", "Mt Airy Kid", et al) are still clinging to their BushHate and post their hateful vitriol about an accomplished man who gave great service to his country and citizens (Viet Nam memorial, MADD, etc.). They still suffer from BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). It shows you where their priorities are - BushHate above all else. So pathetic.
— Obama Remorse[/list]
Posted 3:09 PM, 01/05/2011
These sage words of advice brought to you by a rw deepthinker with the un - Obama Remorse. Pls protect and defend that last functioning brain cell you have left.
— Malachy[/list][/list]
Posted 8:29 AM, 01/05/2011
this story just keeps getting more bizzare...
— dexter55[/list]
Posted 8:35 AM, 01/05/2011
They usually go the "suicide" route when they want to take someone out. This one seems messy.
— jkt[/list]
Posted 8:55 AM, 01/05/2011
Fitting for a guy who spent his life contributing nothing but death and destruction to the world. Witness the type of men that make up our "military". No wonder we're getting these kind of results for the money from our vaunted men in uniform. Organized rabble is all.
— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus[/list]
Posted 1:52 PM, 01/07/2011
Have some respect. John Wheeler was just brutally murdered and his family and friends are grieving over their tragic loss. It is disheartening and a genuine waste of taxpayers' hard-earned dollars for our military to protect idiots like you.
— Jon222[/list][/list]
Posted 8:58 AM, 01/05/2011
Any more conspircy theories? This case will keep the nutcases active for a while.
— DonQ[/list]
Posted 9:10 AM, 01/05/2011
Was there a bar car on Wheeler's train?
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 9:34 AM, 01/05/2011
What was Wheeler doing hanging around Wilmington for two days after he arrived by train from DC? No cell phone calls made during the period in question? Lots of unknowns in this case.
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 9:36 AM, 01/05/2011
I'm always skeptical when "a source" is quoted without being named or validated. If incendiary devices were planted at the neighbors home site, as mentioned, why weren't they activated? Too many loose ends in this article.
— dogman5[/list]
Posted 9:39 AM, 01/05/2011
I CALLED IT !!! NOW ITS DEFINTELY A CIA BLACK OP !! THIS IS HOW THEY WORK..THROUGH FEAR AN SMEAR OF A DEAD MAN WHO WAS MURDERED CAUSE HE HAD DIRTY ON A HIGHER UP..
SO NOW THE PUBLICS SAYING TO THEMSELVES,OH HES A BAD GUY HE WAS INVOLVED IN SOME ARSON ATTEMPT ?? THE CIA,SOME OF THEM MAKE PHILLY P.D 25TH DISTRICT COPS LOOK LIKE CHOIR BOYS..THAT MEANS THERE CORRUPT ON AN UNIMAGINABLE SCALE !!!
HE PROBABLY MESSED WITH THE WRONG SKULL N BONESMEN..UNBELIEVABLE..THEY PROBABLY THOUGHT HED BE FOUND ON CHRISTMAS TOO WHEN NO ONE WOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION..ITS JUST A BLACK OP GONE AWRY !!
— Jax teller[/list]
Posted 9:46 AM, 01/05/2011
It's can't possibly be a professional hit. His body would've never been found as in the case of Imbo & Petrone who disappeared 5yrs ago in Philadelphia.
— PhilMar[/list]
Posted 9:49 AM, 01/05/2011
This can't possibly be a professional hit because his body would've never been found. We all recall the Imbo & Petrone case, who went missing without a trace and last seen in Philly 5yrs ago.
— PhilMar[/list]
Posted 9:49 AM, 01/05/2011
Too many missing pieces to this puzzle. Is there some dark secret in his past that someone wanted never to see the light of day? Afterall, he apparently was an associate of Darth Vader Cheyney. This is a future Forensic Files episode.
— kd45music[/list]
Posted 9:58 AM, 01/05/2011
Bizarre and tragic it is. There are probably alot more unflattering details yet to emerge about this case. Mayhaps he got in the dumpster on his own for some reason.
— Tkat[/list]
Posted 10:11 AM, 01/05/2011
Wheeler was either drunk, suffering from head injuries or dementia, or tripping on LSD when speaking to known eye witnesses.
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 10:33 AM, 01/05/2011
I don't believe in coincidences. The murder is definitely connected to the attempted arson. But, yes, maybe the arson was a frame job - but still connected. The police should be able to check his cell phone and get a lot more info.
— phillyguy36[/list]
Posted 10:41 AM, 01/05/2011
I think it was colonel Mustard, with a candlestick, in the ballroom.
— Owatagoofiam[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110105_Man_found_in_landfill_tied_to_arson_attempt.html) left for the above article, "Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392278#p392277)" (by John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea; Jan. 5, 2011; The Philadelphia Inquirer), #s 41-60:
Posted 10:43 AM, 01/05/2011
He was found in a landfill; does this make him 'white trash?'
— The Curmudgeon[/list]
Posted 11:02 AM, 01/05/2011
So Wheeler was last seen in Wilmington but ended up in a Newark trash dumpster? This is no simple case.
— PurpleHaze70[/list]
Posted 11:13 AM, 01/05/2011
Sounds like a hit. This guy did alot of great things in his life and I'm thankful for his service, hopefully they find the truth about his death.
— 5 Finger Death Punch[/list]
Posted 11:22 AM, 01/05/2011
Cover up story ... nothing to see here ... move on.
http://911essentials.com (http://911essentials.com)
— Aunt Bee[/list]
Posted 11:33 AM, 01/05/2011
— MoBayYankee[/list]
Posted 11:53 AM, 01/05/2011
Anybody else click on the link hoping it was Chris Wheeler?
— Vote for Dickie[/list]
Posted 12:13 PM, 01/05/2011
It honestly sounds like he was drugged first. The security guards who saw him last said he was behaving as though drunk, but didn't smell of alcohol. He was speaking incoherently, claimed he'd been robbed, but refused the help of police being called, yet was unable to get to a safe place for himself. It's incomprehensible that the guards didn't call 911. People, if you see someone vulnerable, unable to manage, in the street, call 911. Let them deal with it as they see fit. Just make the call. Apparently this guy's assassin was waiting for him to wander far enough away to finish the job. I say this is the work of a foreign power. This guy was obviously working on critical programs. What was he working on with Mitre? We assassinated Iran's chief Nuke scientists, so it's likely they are coming after us. We're at war right now, people seem to forget.
— CleanupPhilly[/list]
Posted 12:16 PM, 01/05/2011
Kids, all of these anti-US comments need to focus a bit on what the stuff is that the enemy does. Seems like that really bad conduct gets a pass from the lefties. Why is that?
— CleanupPhilly[/list]
Posted 12:20 PM, 01/05/2011
If you think waterboarding is just awful, how about living in Iran for a bit, or Pakistan and Afghanistan? The press needs to do a better job of what is going on over there. Women getting stoned to death, ears and noses cut off, political prisoners who no one knows if they are dead or alive, daily horrific violence. Think hard about who you want to win this war.
— CleanupPhilly[/list]
Posted 1:53 PM, 01/05/2011
The man appeared somewhat out of it on the video. Looks like he needed help. Perhaps he had a stroke, a bleed on the brain, or problems related to medications. Maybe he fell and whacked his head or somebody clocked him. Maybe he had some heavy psycheological demons that finally slipped the leash. It could explain the devices at the house across the street, the tv blaring, and the dumpster.
— Tkat[/list]
Posted 4:37 PM, 01/05/2011
Wow-you would think that all these government agencies that he worked for would have seen that he was so mentally unstable that he would burn down your house for ruining his view.
I call BS on this story-if you like the smell-swallow it.
— oakster[/list]
Posted 7:33 PM, 01/05/2011
It's all a cover-up then I suppose. Silly me. Gotta get me organicized.
— Tkat[/list][/list]
Posted 5:25 PM, 01/05/2011
Has marijuana been legalized? Certainly seems that way with all these comments being bantered about. More plots and sub-plots than a Tom Clancy novel.
— junethe4th[/list]
Posted 7:06 PM, 01/05/2011
MADD is not a service to our nation. It is the successor to the Women's Temperance Movement of Carrie Nation that led to Prohibition. W.C. Fields was right: "Never trust a man who doesn't drink." For example, George W. Bush and Usama bin Ladin are both non-drinkers. That pretty much says it all.
— David San Diego[/list]
Posted 7:09 PM, 01/05/2011
Wait, so a Republican was found to be angry, vindictive and clearly insane? Where's the news here?
— delatopia[/list]
Posted 8:00 PM, 01/05/2011
Have any if you heard about all the dead birds and dead fish in multiple states? This guy was going to blow the whistle on something big, and was killed............how is that for a conspiracy theory? This man was a war hero, and a Honorable man.........you asses trying to tear him down becaus eyou hate Cheney and Bush are dispicable and should be ashamed
— Madgeowens[/list]
Posted 8:38 PM, 01/05/2011
Can someone explain how Wheeler could have planted inceniery devices at the neighbor's home site if he was in DC working? People that have long known Wheeler, some of them military generals, are calling for an FBI investigation. I don't think he climbed into the dumpster on his own. It will be interesting to see if Eric Holder blocks any in-depth investigation!
— MaggieLyn[/list]
Posted 9:12 PM, 01/05/2011
Yes the smear will continue in this puzzle, and even villification..and I hope we learn some more on the this man who I hear also help in development of our shields agains cyber attack defense system. and especially from those cameras that were all over the place all along the route traveled by the garbage crew.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110105/D9KI6GE00.html (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110105/D9KI6GE00.html)
People are not stupid..This headline as no basis against this man.
and imo again..People can see through the smokecreen.This story will not go away quietly in the night as some want it too.
I h
— SysConfig[/list]
Posted 9:29 PM, 01/05/2011
I guess this case just isn't important enough for the FBI.Now if Wheeler was a video pirate or was selling fake Gucci loafers at the flea market they could get interested.Its a shame he didn't die in Ft.Marcy Park,then the Park Police could investigate.
Nope,nothing suspicious here-go back to sleep.
— oakster[/list]
Posted 10:30 PM, 01/05/2011
This is the biggest news here in Delaware since Christine O'Donnell proved she didn't understand the 1st Amendment.
— orange rhino[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20110105_Man_found_in_landfill_tied_to_arson_attempt.html) left for the above article, "Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392278#p392277)" (by John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea; Jan. 5, 2011; The Philadelphia Inquirer), #s 61-67:
Posted 2:34 AM, 01/06/2011
You raise very interesting point.People in high places have better means available to them than commit arson in the middle of a legal dispute, and draw attention to themselves, especially Wheeler. Arson is a favorite ceative financing method to raise capital. If anything This ould destroy Wheelers opportunity to stop the project and gain sympathy for the builders, so their attempted proposition is absurd, I found it peculiar also why would on this same page, on top five picks the stroruy is place immediately above ex fir fighter arrested. LoL.This seems such a travesty, though unintentional I am sure. We should not let ourselves be led by the nose like this. But the more fantastic the better for public consumption. Thus he was so distraught, he gave himself a head trauma,in a state of drug like shock properly parked his vehicle, only later to stumble into a garbage can, careful in perhaps in one last lucid moment,(being the meticulous type I assume),to take off Police type lab gloves behind as if one last farewell to us..
Follow the money or Cherche la femme..but this is no random act.
— SysConfig[/list]
Posted 4:37 AM, 01/06/2011
Since former Secretary of Defense james Schlesinger is the Chairman of the Board of Mitre,
http://www.mitre.org/about/bot/schlesinger.html (http://www.mitre.org/about/bot/schlesinger.html) read the rest of site, it will open your eyes. No conspiracy nuts there I assure you.
and the agency has recieved accolades from every military, health, and Aerospace you can think of its a Brains Brain think tank for our national security, thereore a strategic asset..and I dont mean metal detectors. Voted several times in a row as one of the top 100 best places to work, we can rule out Job stres for anyone wondering, as he weathered three presidential administrations he is a team player and not some disgruntled employee gone rogue..Killing someone from here is like killing an Iranian Nuclear physicist in real world terms of damage. I am pretty certain, that more than FBI will be involved, most likekly DIA and NSA and CIA.as we speak. According to an examiner report a neighbor statement indicates he may have made it home as TV was turned up loud, and floor boards missing. Most burglars dont take the time to that unless it was someone who knew he would be away and was surprised. That imo may have been our robber what happened then..I am clueless as everyone.
— SysConfig[/list]
Posted 11:19 AM, 01/06/2011
Upon Wheeler discovering what was happening with Iraq’s Phosgene poisonous gas stockpiles, this report continues, he traveled from his home in Delaware to Washington D.C. where he openly confronted and threatened to expose the Pentagon and White House Officials responsible. Being a Vietnam Veteran who was responsible for having the famous memorial to that war erected, Wheeler was more than knowledgeable about the United States massive chemical and biological attacks in that conflict and had vowed to not let happen again.
http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/top-us-o ... ass-death/ (http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/top-us-official-murdered-after-arkansas-weapons-test-causes-mass-death/)
— paco514[/list]
Posted 9:47 PM, 01/06/2011
I think our answer will be found closer to home.and not on foreign soil. The silence of the authorities high and low. and the attempted ongoing smear of this American, smoke boms, planted cell phones, and lets put aside the plethora of accomplishments and dealing and how, does speak volumes to me. Ironically The main headlining thrown to distract us is to take another American alive from the garbage dumps, by virtue of his golden voice to perhaps become a Radio personality..tells me as well you don't need brains to be either a radio or TV host, nor a journalist anymore. Fortunately, someone upstairs must like right, and is letting us stay focused on this one, and able to tell the difference. Even the Lion sits patiently watching a herd of Zebras run, and we can't tell one from the other in the stampede. Here as well we can't tell friend from foe any longer.The lion sees the one he will strike and studies.. keep doing our homework...keep focused..don't let others do our homework or like networks, and empty suits creating noise to blur the lines in this case our thinking for us. They substitute it with party lines and science fiction. Our common sense is all we have left. And common sense and real honest cops and honest reporters and journalists hit the pavement....will see us thru this. Like the Lion , they do not lose focus, and can tell one stripe from another, one fiction from another, and where the truth really is.
— SysConfig[/list]
Posted 7:15 AM, 01/07/2011
— Hapticz[/list][/list]
Posted 10:27 PM, 01/06/2011
Has anyone blamed Pelosi or Obama yet? Rush or that nut job Beck are probably working on it.
— TheDog[/list]
Posted 6:40 AM, 01/07/2011
another everyday murder! this entire media blitz is another attempt to drag our attention away from the ruined economic, political and jobless state of our 'wonderful' country. stay awake people!
— Hapticz[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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From Forbes.com:
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Associated Press
Cameras plentiful where Del. man's body dumped (http://http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/01/05/general-us-federal-official-landfill_8238059.html)
By RANDALL CHASE, 01.05.11, 04:25 AM EST
NEWARK, Del. -- Whoever dumped the body of a prominent national defense consultant into a garbage bin in a bustling college town risked being detected, either by witnesses or surveillance cameras, with some of the containers in well-lit parking lots, near restaurants and stores.
Police don't know which of the 10 bins collected on New Year's Eve in Newark contained the body of 66-year-old John P. Wheeler III, who was last seen alive the afternoon before some 15 miles away in downtown Wilmington. Where he might have been killed and what he was doing on the days leading up to his death also remain elusive, said Newark police spokesman Lt. Mark Farrall.
"We still don't know the location of the crime scene," Farrall said Tuesday.
Much is known about Wheeler's 40-year consulting career.
A 1966 West Point graduate and Army officer at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War, he later served the administrations of the last three Republican presidents. During Ronald Reagan's time in the White House, Wheeler headed the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program and helped get the Vietnam War Memorial wall built in Washington. Under George W. Bush, he helped develop an Air Force program to combat cyber attacks on U.S. weapons systems.
A tipster told police Wheeler was alive on Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. near an intersection about four blocks from the office of attorney Bayard Marin, who was representing Wheeler and his wife in a heated property dispute, and about a mile from an Amtrak station where Wheeler often caught the train to Washington. They found his car at the station.
Farther south along Interstate 95, The Associated Press traced the garbage truck's path through downtown Newark before it headed to the Cherry Island landfill where workers saw Wheeler's body falling out of the truck as it unloaded. Investigators have said they believe the body was in a bin early in the truck's run.
The first stop was a bank in College Square shopping center. Two trash bins at the rear of a bank are just yards away from two surveillance cameras and in sight of several storefronts and a heavily traveled road.
Inside one was a pair of white latex gloves, similar to those used by police evidence technicians.
Eddie Baker, 55, and his wife, Traci, 44, said they have been scouring the garbage around the shopping center for the past three weeks looking for moving boxes. Baker said he had not seen anything suspicious, but that he had come across homeless people searching, and sometimes sleeping in, the bins.
From the bank, the truck headed to the library, where the bin is tucked in an alley between the rear of the building and a fence that partitions the alley from nearby homes. A locked chain-link gate prevents through traffic in the alley, and a surveillance camera guards the area, alerting workers to an AP reporter's presence.
Asked whether staffers had talked to police, a man replied, "Not a lot to talk about, unfortunately," before the closing the door.
Security cameras and lights overlook bins on the truck's route behind a Toyota ( TM - news - people ) dealership. Those at a McDonald's ( MCD - news - people ) are in plain sight of a 24-hour drive-thru lane. Just down the street, a small bin is behind another restaurant, across the street from a 24-hour emergency care center whose bins can be seen by residents of a seven-story apartment building.
Behind a Goodwill thrift store, several containers are in a lighted area that, according to a sign, is under 24-hour surveillance.
Whoever dumped Wheeler's body would have found more privacy at a nearby retirement village and assisted living facility, where the bin is more hidden.
The garbage truck's route is 10 miles from Wheeler's home in New Castle. Investigators have searched the home, where yellow police tape can still be seen in the kitchen, but they have not identified it as a crime scene.
Wheeler's lawyer Marin said he last spoke with his client on Dec. 27, and did not know what he may have been doing in Wilmington three days later.
Wheeler was suing to block Frank and Regina Marini of Hockessin from continuing to build a new house across the street from his duplex. Wheeler argued that the Marini house did not comply with construction standards for new homes in the historic district. A Delaware Chancery Court judge denied Wheeler's application for a temporary restraining order on Dec. 13.
Late on Dec. 28, several smoke bombs of the type used for rodent control were tossed into the Marini house, scorching the floors, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Alan Brown said.
The Marinis said in a statement that they offered "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of Wheeler and his wife, Katherine Klyce. Police have given no indication whether they believe the property dispute had anything to do with Wheeler's death.
"It is one facet of the investigation," Farrall said.
In New York, police searched the condominium Wheeler and Klyce shared in a brick building on 124th Street in Manhattan, where they had lived for at least three years.
Building superintendent Jay Hosein said Tuesday that he saw Klyce last week, and that she seemed happy and cheerful.
"They were a very nice couple, very nice people," Hosein said.
Efforts by The Associated Press to contact Klyce have been unsuccessful. Wheeler's family issued a statement through Newark police Monday asking for privacy.
Wheeler had twins, a son and daughter, by his first wife. Klyce has two daughters from a previous marriage.
Elizabeth Thorp, a board member of the Deafness Research Foundation, of which Wheeler had formerly been CEO, said the circumstances of his death were "too surreal."
She said he moved in a sophisticated crowd.
"This is not a guy who would end up in landfill or be murdered," she said. "It's a gigantic loss."
Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington, David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md., and Colleen Long in New York City contributed to this story.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
2010 Forbes.com LLC™
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Posted on Wed, Jan. 5, 2011
Military expert's death still puzzling: Sightings reported, but few clues (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110105_Military_expert_s_death_still_puzzling__Sightings_reported__but_few_clues.html)
By WILL BUNCH · Philadelphia Daily News
[email protected] 215-854-2957
Delaware's bizarre murder mystery involving a top U.S. military expert took more strange twists yesterday with two reported sightings of John Wheeler III in the days before his body was found in a Wilmington landfill.
One witness - an attendant at a parking lot next to the New Castle County courthouse in Wilmington who related her tale to police and then to two Philadelphia TV stations - told reporters that she saw Wheeler, 66, acting erratically last Wednesday. She claimed that the man she believes to be the former top Air Force aide was unable to find where he parked his car and looked disheveled - not wearing an overcoat and holding a shoe in one hand.
"He really didn't look good to me," Iman Goldsborough told Fox 29. "I asked him, 'Are you OK?' He was like, 'No.' " Authorities said that Wheeler's car turned up later at a different parking lot, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Wilmington.
Meanwhile, police in Newark, Del., who are leading the probe into Wheeler's murder, confirmed that he was spotted walking near 10th and Orange streets in downtown Wilmington at 3:30 Thursday afternoon, just hours before a trash truck completing a route in Newark dumped Wheeler's body at the Cherry Island landfill.
That busy intersection is several blocks from the office of the lawyer who was representing Wheeler and his wife in a contentious lawsuit against New Castle, Del., neighbors who are building a home that Wheelers claimed was blocking their view.
The killing of Wheeler - who during the final years of the George W. Bush administration was a top Pentagon expert on cyber warfare - and the strange and mysterious way it took place has become a major national story, especially among journalists who considered him a key source.
Mark Thompson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter now with Time magazine, called Wheeler "one of those outer planets in the capital's solar system, never drawing too close to the sun but riding the country's business in an elliptical orbit that would bring him closer to the heat every once in awhile."
Wheeler - a West Point grad who served in the Vietnam War and went on to Yale Law School and Harvard Business School - was probably best known for his leading role in building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall on the National Mall, in Washington.
But he was a man of many talents and interests, who was chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for a time, a lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and an advocate for hiring Vietnam vets and banning chemical warfare.
He lately worked as a consultant to a nonprofit defense contractor, the Mitre Corp.
The police investigation - which is still being treated as a local matter although the FBI is providing some technical assistance - is dealing with an array of information made public yesterday, including:
* The statement issued by Wheeler's family - including his wife, Katherine Klyce, 66, an importer of Cambodian silk - urging reporters to "respect the family's privacy" and leave them alone.
Several reporters said they had been unable to locate Klyce, who traveled frequently for her business.
The couple reportedly owned a condo on 124th Street, in Manhattan, but had not been there for at least a couple of weeks.
Wheeler had two children from an earlier marriage.
* A report that several floorboards appeared to be missing from the kitchen in the couple's New Castle home and that several chairs in the kitchen are wrapped in yellow police-crime tape.
But much of the focus yesterday was on tracing Wheeler's movements in the days before his corpse was found on Friday, New Year's Eve morning.
Goldsborough, the Wilmington parking-lot attendant, told Fox 29 that he "just didn't seem like he was really there. He seemed like he was disoriented."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comment (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110105_Military_expert_s_death_still_puzzling__Sightings_reported__but_few_clues.html) left for the above article, "Military expert's death still puzzling: Sightings reported, but few clues (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=392723#p392723)" (by Will Bunch; Jan. 5, 2011; Philadelphia Daily News):
Posted 4:04 PM, 01/05/2011
It was a CIA hit.Must have had the goods on the Obama mob.
— dtowndestroyer[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Wed, Jan. 5, 2011
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
Video shows 'confused' Wheeler 14 hours before body was found (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110105_Video_shows_confused_Wheeler_14_hours_before_body_was_found.html)
By John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
Police investigating the death of a former Pentagon aide said this morning he was last seen on a surveillance video in downtown Wilmington at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, about 14 hours before his body was found in a Wilmington landfill.
Newark police, who have classified the death of John Parsons Wheeler 3d as a homicide, said the surveillance video showed him inside the Nemours Building at 10th and Orange Streets and that he appeared "confused."
Police also said Wheeler was approached inside the building earlier in the day by several individuals who offered assistance to him, which he declined.
On Tuesday, police discovered evidence that Wheeler may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his death, a law enforcement source told The Inquirer.
The source emphasized that the evidence does not shed light on Wheeler's death, but it has helped detectives understand his state of mind before he disappeared.
Police found evidence linking Wheeler to devices planted at the New Castle home of a neighbor with whom he had been feuding, said the source, who is close to the investigation. The feud was over the size of the neighbor's house, which was under construction across the street from the residence Wheeler shared with his wife, Katherine Klyce, in the city's historic district.
Wheeler was found dead in the Cherry Island Landfill about 10 a.m. on Friday, in refuse that came from trash bins in one of 10 possible locations in Newark, Del. Police said they have been trying to retrace his movements between Dec. 28, when he left his office outside Washington, to when his body was discovered.
The case has drawn national attention - Newark police received roughly 70 media calls Tuesday - because Wheeler, 66, lived such a distinguished public life.
A Vietnam veteran who became a driving force behind the controversial memorial on the National Mall, Wheeler worked on nuclear, chemical, and cyber issues at the Pentagon. He was the first chief executive officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a tireless advocate for veterans.
On Tuesday, police said detectives verified that Wheeler had been seen Thursday near 10th and Orange Streets - close to the Hotel du Pont - but a police spokesman declined to say how this was confirmed. An executive at the nearby DuPont Corp. headquarters, which employs outdoor surveillance cameras, said that the company had "cooperated" with the police but declined to elaborate.
Police say they have no suspects and have released few details about the slaying - in part because they themselves have so many unanswered questions, including where the killing took place.
"We're still trying to [find] the crime scene," said Newark police spokesman Mark A. Farrall. "We're working a lot of leads."
Farrall has said that Wheeler died shortly before his body was discovered Friday, but has not described how Wheeler died - whether, for example, his death was caused by gunshot, bludgeoning, or some other violent act.
An official cause of death will not be released until "toxicology reports and other forensic studies" are completed, said Carl Kanefsky, a spokesman for the medical examiner.
"It's quite a mystery, and the length of time it's taking to solve it makes it more intriguing," said Bayard Marin, a lawyer who represented Wheeler in the dispute over a neighbor's plans to build a large house in New Castle's historic district.
The Wheelers tried to halt those plans in court, contending the house was too big for the neighborhood.
The incendiary devices were placed at the neighbor's home last week, police said, days before Wheeler returned from his part-time consulting job for the defense contractor Mitre Corp., located in McLean, Va., outside Washington.
Marin said he did not know if the devices or Wheeler's death had any connection to the building dispute, but he said tempers in the court case never rose to acrimonious levels.
Marin said he was interviewed by police Tuesday for 45 minutes, but he would not say what detectives asked. "I guess they are just gathering all the miscellaneous facts and hoping to tie them together to find something they can make of it," he said.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, police on Tuesday searched the condominium that Wheeler and his wife had shared in a brick building on 124th Street for at least three years, the Associated Press reported.
Wheeler's wife, Katherine Klyce, who operates an international textile company with ties to New York and Cambodia, is unavailable for comment, according to a family statement.
The FBI on Tuesday offered "technical assistance" to the police, said FBI spokesman Rich Wolf. He declined to elaborate, but in FBI parlance, the term "technical assistance" typically refers to forensic assistance. It does not mean the FBI is conducting a full investigation.
In Delaware, authorities returned to the Cherry Island Landfill on Tuesday but kept reporters at bay.
Farrall, the police spokesman, said only, "We're looking for anything that might be of evidentiary value."
Sanitation crews used an alternative site at Cherry Island on Tuesday, so that police could comb the area where the body was found without interruption, said F. Michael Parkowski, a spokesman for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority.
Parkowski said it was not surprising that workers had discovered Wheeler's body in time to retrieve it from the landfill. He said truck drivers as well as workers known as "spotters" are trained to watch garbage for suspicious items as it is dumped at the site.
The defense contractor that had employed Wheeler part time since 2009 issued a short statement Tuesday. "At this time our thoughts are with his family," Mitre said.
The statement said Wheeler's work for Mitre consisted of "providing part-time support to outreach activities aimed at promoting discussions among government, industry, and academia on cyber defense topics." Company spokeswoman Jennifer J. Sherman declined to further explain his duties.
The cause of Wheeler's death - if it has been determined - is likely driving the focus of the investigation, said Michael Carbonell, a former FBI agent who supervised the agency's violent-crime squad in Philadelphia.
"If he died by blunt-force trauma or was shot, it tells us it was probably a random street crime, but if he's strangled, that's different," said Carbonell, who emphasized that he was merely speculating on the basis of his decades with the FBI.
The biggest publicly known clue, Carbonell said, is that the killer or killers apparently tried to hide Wheeler's corpse by placing it in a trash bin.
"Guys who rob and shoot a guy do that and run," Carbonell said. "Somebody went to some extra effort to dispose of the body."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Newark Police Det. Nicholas Sansone at 302-366-7110, ext. 135 or [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected]).[/i]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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Comments (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110105_Video_shows_confused_Wheeler_14_hours_before_body_was_found.html) left for the above article, "Video shows 'confused' Wheeler 14 hours before body was found (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=32619&p=393149#p393149)" (by John Shiffman and Kathleen Brady Shea; Jan. 5, 2011; The Philadelphia Inquirer):
Posted 12:40 PM, 01/05/2011
Wow.
So, you did not like the comments section calling out this obvious spin piece, so , take it off the website, slap another title on it, and put it out again as if there were no comments before?
Then, when people try to comment, hit submit, nothing happens ?
Cheney must have called you himself.
Totally a murder, total spin - I might as well be listening to Fox "News"
— murphthesurf[/list]
Posted 2:15 PM, 01/05/2011
it's still there dum dum, you should have just looked before posting your asinine comment. your information is as bad as MSNBC'S and CNN!!
— meshybell[/list][/list]
Posted 12:52 PM, 01/05/2011
Sure sounds like a professional hit. This much I know: we'll never know.
— The Monk[/list]
Posted 12:56 PM, 01/05/2011
communist conspiracy for sure.
— Miss M.[/list]
Posted 1:44 PM, 01/05/2011
HERE COMES THE CIAs SMEAR CAMPAIGN IN FULL EFFECT !! NOW I KNOW IT WAS A BLACK OP !! THATS THE CIAS M.O TO GET PEOPLE TO NOT CARE AN CHARACHTER ASSASINATION !!
THE C.I.A ARE PROS AT THIS TYPE OF PROPAGANDA !! THEY THRIVE OFF OF FEAR AN SMEAR !!! AN ON A GUY WHO CANT STAND UP FOR HIMSELF ANYMORE !!!
ITS JUST LIKE BIN LADEN,HE WAS A CIA AGENT FOR 10 YEARS PRIOR TO 9/11 HES LIVIN IT UP RIGHT NOW IN DUBAI.THEY JUST SET UP A FAKE PATSY !!
THEY USED TO CALL AL QUIDA, AL CIADA !! CAUSE THEY WERE A FAKE PATSY GROUP TO USE TO STEAL OIL.THESE GUYS ARE TOTALLY SKULL N BONESMEN !!
WHATEVER MOST PEOPLE ARE SHEEP WITH EYES WIDE SHUT,WHILE THE CIAS FLIPPIN BLACK OPS WITH IMPUNITY !!! WAKE UP SHEEPLE !!
— Jax teller[/list]
Posted 2:20 PM, 01/05/2011
you're comment is as dumb as murphthesurf's, and hard to read also!
— meshybell[/list][/list]
Posted 4:06 PM, 01/05/2011
Yep you are who they will be looking for
— abbe[/list]
Posted 4:47 PM, 01/05/2011
Substitute "drunk" for "confused" and you may get a clue. We had quite a few "confused" people in the house after the New Year's party.
— DonQ[/list]
Posted 9:23 AM, 01/06/2011
He was acting like he was being chased or hunted...we all know this was a government rub out. A Harvard/Yale/West Point grad, that worked for multiple presidents and the Pentagon usually don't end up in Delaware landfills.
— Political correctness has destroyed America[/list]
Copyright 2011 Philly.com
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What I am now wondering is did the confused old guy climb into the dumpster to take a nap and get himself crushed by the garbage truck?
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What I am now wondering is did the confused old guy climb into the dumpster to take a nap and get himself crushed by the garbage truck?
With all the flaming hot conspiracy theories whirling around this case, such a low-key "answer" seems almost too pat! :D
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Thu, Jan. 6, 2011
Bizarre final days and hours of John P. Wheeler 3d (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20110106_Bizarre_final_days_and_hours_of_John_P__Wheeler_3d.html)
By Kathleen Brady Shea and Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writers
(http://http://media.philly.com/images/200*305/20110106_inq_sbody06-a.JPG)
Photograph by: Tony Fitts
As more becomes publicly known of the final days and hours of John P. Wheeler 3d, an image is emerging of a man coming unglued.
Less than 48 hours before the respected former Pentagon aide turned up dead last week in a Delaware landfill, Wheeler limped into a Wilmington parking garage. Coatless and confused, one of his shoes in hand, he bizarrely inquired about the location of his car, then declined offers of help, witnesses said.
A day later, police said Wednesday, surveillance video captured Wheeler in downtown Wilmington again - this time looking "confused" inside the Nemours Building at 10th and Orange Streets about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 30.
That was less than 14 hours before Wheeler's body tumbled into a Wilmington landfill from a garbage truck. Police have called his death a homicide, but have refused to disclose how they believe Wheeler, 66, died.
"I knew something wasn't right," said Iman Goldsborough, a parking-lot attendant who encountered Wheeler on Dec. 29, "but I never thought it would end up like this."
Also this week, police found evidence that Wheeler may have been involved in an arson attempt at the home of a couple he had been battling in court, a law enforcement source has told The Inquirer.
It all runs counter to the burnished public image of Wheeler, who served in Vietnam, successfully pushed for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, advised presidents and Pentagon brass, and served as the first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and as secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Phoebe Dill, a friend and neighbor of Wheeler and his wife, Katherine Klyce, in New Castle, Del., said she last saw Wheeler on Christmas Eve when her husband, Robert, drove him to the train station.
"He was going to New York with his wife's Christmas present," she said. Wheeler and Klyce have a condominium in Manhattan.
Dill said she assumed Wheeler then took a train directly to Washington, near his consulting job at Mitre Corp., a defense contractor in McLean, Va.
The news that Wheeler appeared disoriented in Wilmington several days later greatly distressed her and her husband, she said.
"It's a terrible thing to happen to anyone," she said, surmising a medical problem had occurred.
After working at Mitre on Dec. 28, Wheeler is believed to have taken a train from Washington to Wilmington. That night, police said, smoke-bomb devices were set off in an unfinished New Castle home across from Wheeler's that belongs to a couple with whom he was long embroiled in a court battle over the dimensions of the house.
On Dec. 13, a Chancery Court judge denied Wheeler's application for a temporary restraining order. Wheeler's lawyer, Bayard Marin, has said he last spoke to Wheeler on Dec. 27 - the day before the arson attempt.
Marin doubted the dispute had anything to do with Wheeler's death. He declined on Wednesday to comment further.
On Dec. 29, Wheeler turned up at a pharmacy in New Castle at 6 p.m. and asked the pharmacist for a ride to Wilmington, the Wilmington News Journal reported. The pharmacist, who declined comment Wednesday, told the newspaper that Wheeler looked "different" and "a little upset." He said he offered to call a cab, but Wheeler refused and left.
About 30 minutes later, Wheeler entered the parking garage attached to the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, about seven miles from the pharmacy. How he got there has not been explained.
A surveillance video shows Wheeler limping inside, wearing a dark suit but no overcoat, his white shirt open at the collar, clutching one tasseled loafer.
"He said he wanted to warm up before getting his car," Goldsborough said. She suggested he close an outside door and stay in the vestibule area.
His car, it turned out, was not in that garage. After his death, it was towed from a garage near the train station several blocks away, where he was a monthly customer.
Goldsborough said Wheeler told her he had been driven from the train station by his brother, had been robbed, and was recovering from the recent death of his mother. He declined Goldsborough's offer to contact police, she said.
Dill, Wheeler's neighbor, said that the limp was not new, but that Wheeler's brother and mother "both died some years ago."
While looking for his car, Wheeler encountered two departing courthouse employees who declined Wednesday to be quoted by name, saying they feared losing their jobs. They said that they encountered Wheeler about 7:30 p.m., that he was having trouble locating his vehicle, and that he wondered aloud whether he was in the right garage.
Wheeler said he didn't have his garage ticket because his wallet and briefcase had been stolen. When asked if he needed money, he told the workers that he had $120. He also declined their offer to call police, they said.
All three people who encountered Wheeler described him as clean and neat. His responses to their questions, they said, seemed labored but lucid.
All said they wished they had called police anyway.
"We feel that we should have done something more," one woman said.
Where Wheeler spent the night is not known, although he reportedly said he was staying at a nearby hotel. Officials at the nearby Hotel du Pont declined comment.
Police initially had said that Wheeler was last seen around midafternoon the following day, Dec. 30, near 10th and Orange Streets. On Wednesday, they disclosed that surveillance video showed him inside the Nemours Building there as late as 8:30 p.m.
Sometime between then and the next morning, Wheeler turned up dead in a Dumpster in Newark, about 15 miles away. Police believe he had been in one of 10 bins collected beginning at 4:20 a.m.
His body was spotted as the collection truck dumped its load about 10 a.m. at the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington.
Contact staff writer Kathleen Brady Shea at 610-696-3815 or [email protected].
Copyright 2011 Philly.com