Two Executives of the Aerospace Hall of Fame Leave in Mysterious Move

Two top staffers of the International Aerospace Hall of Fame in Balboa Park have suddenly left the organization under unexplained circumstances.

Executive Director John Roche III and Director of Educational Services Susan Snyder are “no longer with the organization as of (last) Friday afternoon,” said Speedy Rice, an attorney and member of the hall’s board of directors.

The pair made up half the full-time staff of the hall, an organization devoted to individual achievers in the aerospace field and housed within the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Joseph H. Livernash, a board member and retired Air Force colonel, took over Monday as interim executive director.

In 1983, Gilbert Amelio, another executive director of the Hall of Fame, resigned under pressure after being accused of writing several hundred dollars in checks without authorization.

In an interview Wednesday, Roche said he was suddenly, and without much explanation asked to resign Friday afternoon by board chairman Gordon Witter. He said Witter told him that Snyder was also being asked to resign.

“When I asked him why, he said ‘because we want a new management team in here and in order to do that, we must ask you to leave,’ ” Roche said.

Rice, however, refused to confirm whether Roche and Snyder had quit or were fired. “We’re not going to discuss it,” he said. “It’s a private board matter and a confidential employee matter.”

Rice said, however, that the pair’s departure “was not a hasty decision,” and that the board of directors had met to discuss it.

Roche, who took the organization’s top post on Aug. 1, 1985, said he is seeking legal advice about his options.

City Manager Jack McGrory, Assistant Park and Recreation Director David Twomey and Commission for Arts and Culture Chairwoman Victoria Hamilton said they had no information on Roche’s departure.