Before arrest with 303 gold bars, CIA officer spun tale he was Top Gun fighter pilot

[muriel_volestrangler]

Why he had all that gold and cash is now the subject of a federal investigation. Rush, a CIA officer for about 17 years, is accused of creating a fake top secret intelligence program to receive government funds for his personal enrichment, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation.

Rush is also accused of fabricating his academic and military record when he applied to the spy agency in the early 2000s.

Among the fabrications, federal prosecutors say, was that he was a Navy pilot. Rush did serve in the Navy — from 1997 to 2015 — but he was an information systems technician. And according to federal prosecutors, he didn’t even have a pilot’s license.
...
So far he has been charged only with stealing public money by filling out fraudulent time sheets. Prosecutors say he pocketed $77,000 in military leave pay after he falsely claimed he was a member of the Navy Reserve beyond 2015.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/arrest-303-gold-bars-cia-officer-spun-tale-was-top-gun-fighter-pilot-rcna349037

This makes the CIA's employee vetting look non-existent. Not only did they take his word about what his previous military experience was without checking with the Navy, they employed him from the "early 2000s" until 2015 with him still in the Navy Reserve - and they didn't even bother to check what he was doing in the Reserve!"