VA employee found dead one day after bribery arrest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — A Veterans Affairs worker who was accused of taking kickbacks was found dead in his Cannon County home of an apparent suicide, authorities said.

Joseph Haymond was arrested Tuesday for taking bribes in exchange for buying 100,000 rolls of red tape at inflated prices. Co-worker Natalie Coker was also arrested.

Haymond’s death Wednesday morning is being investigated as a suicide, said Jennifer Johnson, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Investigators are waiting for a final autopsy report.

The Cannon County Sheriff’s Department asked TBI to assist in the investigation after deputies found Haymond dead outside of his Auburntown home.

The employees got kickbacks of $1 per roll for purchases made between 1999 and 2001 totaling more than $100,000 each, U.S. Attorney Jim Vines said.

Haymond was the director of the VA’s Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy, which mails prescription medicines to veterans. Coker was the assistant director of the program at the time.

The scheme was revealed by two confidential witnesses, including the person who supplied the tape and other supplies, according to the criminal complaint filed by an investigator with the federal Inspector General’s office.

The red tape, stamped with the word “security,” is supposed to be used to deter tampering, according to the criminal complaint.