WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The man chosen for the third-ranking job in the CIA (news - web sites) resigned under pressure from the U.S. spy agency more than 20 years ago after being caught shoplifting, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
Michael Kostiw, picked by new CIA Director Porter Goss to be the agency's executive director, has not received final clearance to take the job, although he had been scheduled to be sworn in Monday, the newspaper reported, citing a friend of Kostiw whom it did not identify.
Citing past and current agency officials, the Post said Kostiw was caught shoplifting in late 1981 at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. He had been an officer for 10 years at that point.
He was put on administrative leave after responses to questions about the incident during a polygraph test, according to four officials familiar with the situation, the Post reported.
One former official said agency officials arranged for misdemeanor theft charges to be dropped and the police record expunged in exchange for his resignation and an agreement to get counseling.
Goss picked Kostiw, a former lobbyist for ChevronTexaco Corp and staffer on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, to replace the existing executive director less than a week after becoming director. Kostiw would have a key role in spending decisions and personnel matters, the Post said.
Goss, a Republican congressman from Florida, was chosen to replace former CIA Director George Tenet after U.S. intelligence agencies came under heavy criticism for failures before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the invasion of Iraq .
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