For my money,the picture of Dr. Ivins being “hounded into suicide” doesn’t quite work.
At this point, I have no reason to dis-believe the FBI’s conclusions,especially on learning he was in the habit of “just going off” on long trips (and turning back the odometer so his wife wouldn’t know.)This makes a trip to Princeton entirely feasible-although his motives for doing so-other than mis-direction-are hard to figure out.
His suicide seems to have been planned out. You don’t just whip up a batch of sedatives,scarf it down, and hope for the best. You have to get the drugs,research them, etc.
Finally, his suicide accomplished something vital: the total preservation of his (post-mortem)employee benefits.
He had not been charged or indicted.He was under suspension because of concerns about his psychological state:concerns he may have deliberately inflated to insure he was officially on disability status.
His wife will be entitled to a survivor portion of his retirement pension (assuming he made that election)-and may even be entitled to some form of disability award.Assuming his life insurance had passed the “incontestability period”-usually 2 years-she would also be entitled to that.
Not much different from a situation most of us are familiar with: the cop who is in deep trouble, and “eats his gun” before he can be charged.
Read today’s post by peer review journal and add another comment.
Re CSRS/FERS retirement ~ the spouse gets the spousal benefit if you die on the job. You don’t have to make an election beforehand. It’s only when you retire that you have to make the election.
>>>You don’t just whip up a batch of sedatives,scarf it down, and hope for the best.
Gene, it was Rx Tylenol. No whipping up required.