Cape Charles Mirror Report – Wayne Creed
Based on a year 2000 internal report by the U.S. Navy Inspector General, Cape Charles Assistant Town Manager Robert Panek, then a high ranking civilian in the Navy Budget Office, was part of a scam that attempted to allow two friends to retire prematurely and start taking pensions early. The report is quoted as stating that the scam is a case of senior Navy executives “taking care of their own.” The report charges “manipulation of the federal retirement system.” The Inspector General’s report notes that three top Navy civilians attempted to manipulate the retirement system to help their friends retire early. Cape Charles Assistant Town Manager, Robert Panek was one of the members involved in the scheme.
Editor’s Note: After this topic was thrown over the transom by unlikely sources, some of this was confirmed by a Defense Week article by John M. Donnelly in August 2002, “Top Navy Execs Tried To Bilk Retirement System”. Most, if not all information in this Mirror story is derived from that year 2000 Defense Week article. The original article can be found on Free Republic here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/735634/posts.
Defense Week obtained the Navy Inspector Generals (IG) report and the bonus information via the Freedom of Information Act.