A senior Pentagon official has been placed on administrative leave after it was revealed he was facing criminal charges involving removing license plates from a vehicle parked in his Capitol Hill neighborhood.
In a terse statement the Pentagon said, “In light of the pending criminal case involving Bryan Whitman, he has been placed on administrative leave while the department reviews this matter.”
Wednesday, the Washington Post reported Whitman was confronted by police after a neighbors used a surveillance camera to observe him removing the tags from a vehicle driven by their nanny.
Whitman was apparently upset that the vehicle was improperly using a parking permit, but local officials told the Washington Post the use was legal.
Whitman was charged with three counts of misdemeanor theft. Lawyers for Whitman and prosecutors agreed to a plea deal that would dismiss the case. Whitman will have to pay $1,000 in restitution, work 32 hours of community service, remain out of trouble for the next 10 months and avoid contact with the victims.
A retired special forces soldier, Whitman was a long-time civilian employee, and rose to become principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.
As a civilian member of the Senior Executive Service, Whitman has rights under federal employee rules that preclude his immediate dismissal.
