The Nation - News from Nov. 28, 1985

The Pentagon said that its internal watchdog has been asked to investigate the case of a senior auditing official who pressed associates to help cover legal expenses of his former boss, who was fired for seeking to punish whistle-blower George B. Spanton. Robert D. Bickel, the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s deputy assistant director for operations, asked an unspecified number of his colleagues in a letter to engage in some “personal salesmanship” to raise money for Charles O. Starrett Jr., who directed the agency until June 17. The letter expressed concern that only $6,300 had been raised for legal appeals.