Former LCCC professor, fake SEAL kills self
April 23, 2003
A former Luzerne County Community College adjunct history professor who was fired for falsifying his job application and had falsely claimed to be a Navy SEAL committed suicide in Delaware last week.
Officer Trinidad Navarro confirmed that David Silbergeld, 65, of Mountain Top, was found in Rockwood Mansion Park at about noon April 15.
"He was found on the walking trail, deceased, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," said Navarro, police media coordinator in New Castle County, Delaware. The body was taken by the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
Medical examiner's office spokeswoman Allison Levine confirmed the death was ruled a suicide.
Silbergeld was fired from LCCC on April 9, 2002, after a Times Leader investigation showed he had been convicted of federal felonies, including participating in a major cocaine smuggling ring. He served prison time for another conviction while teaching at LCCC.
Earlier investigations showed Silbergeld's claims that he had served as a member of the elite Navy SEALs and underwater demolition teams were untrue.
Reports rose of investigations by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and by other agencies. Silbergeld received disability payments related to military service.
A Veterans Affairs spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he could not comment on Silbergeld because of confidentiality restrictions. An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau neither confirms nor denies investigations.
|
|
|
|
|