Fired general faces criminal inquiry
Case ‘deserved more attention,’ watchdog says
WASHINGTON – A general who initially escaped sanction for living rent-free in the home of a defense contractor after the Pentagon’s inspector general cleared him is under criminal investigation.
Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Michael Bobeck was fired in 2016.
Military criminal investigators have been investigating him, including his emails, for at least a year, according to an official familiar with the case but unable to speak about it publicly.
Bobeck’s Army lawyer, Lt. Col. Jeremy Larchick, said he does not typically comment on criminal investigations. Bobeck was not available for comment.
Some of Bobeck’s emails, which were obtained by USA TODAY, show that he was made aware that Sikorsky Aircraft, the maker of the Black Hawk, the Army’s workhorse transport helicopter, was interested in discussions between the
Army and National
Guard on how to divide the helicopter fleet.
The emails date to
2015, when Sikorsky and the National Guard pushed the Pentagon to buy more Black Hawks.
Before his promotion to general and a post on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bobeck held positions with the National Guard Bureau that saw him responsible for its aviation units across the country. Bobeck is also a pilot.
In 2016, Bobeck was fired from his post on the for having an extramarital affair, a violation of military law.
At the time, USA TODAY reported that Bobeck lived rent-free in the home of a defense contractor.
That prompted Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to ask the Pentagon inspector general to examine Bobeck’s relationship with Peduzzi Associates, a business consulting firm with offices near the Pentagon.
The inspector general determined that the gift of housing was acceptable because Bobeck had a long-standing relationship with an executive at the firm.
However, the emails Bobeck received from Peduzzi and Sikorsky triggered renewed interest by Pentagon criminal investigators, according to the first official and another Defense