After alerting the Pentagon to corruption and payment irregularities involving U.S. personnel in the Coalition Provisional Authority and with the Iraqi government, he was killed in an ambush in Taji, Iraq.

[1] During the 1990s, he worked on a top-secret program for the United States military, procuring Russian, Chinese, and other foreign-made weaponry for testing.

[3] In this job, he used Eastern European contacts, especially in Ukraine and Bulgaria, allowing him to purchase surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft systems.

[1] His lifestyle mirrored that of a soldier of fortune[4] and he was known to routinely carry an automatic weapon slung across his shoulder with a cigar in his mouth.

[2] Among his duties, he was executive vice president of international development for Canonsburg-based CLI Corp.[5] He had a close relationship with a number of Washington lobbyists connected to Ahmed Chalabi.

[1] After the Iraq War, Stoffel's company, Wye Oak Technology, received one of the first contracts issued by the new Iraqi Ministry of Defense to refurbish the country's Soviet-era T-55 tanks and artillery.

[3] After General David Petraeus sent a July 20, 2004 letter to Iraqi Minister of Defense, Hazim al-Shaalan, pledging full support for Stoffel,[6] the contract to Wye Oak was awarded and signed on August 16, 2004.

[3] It is reported that Stoffel understood the risks involved with his job, but hoped that by aiding the Iraqi military, he could help U.S. troops return home sooner.

But in all the chaos, in a place overrun with mercenaries, privateers, and shady officials, he nonetheless expected everyone in Iraq to play by his rules.

On May 20, 2004, Stoffel was granted limited immunity from prosecution by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) in a whistleblower complaint.

[3] In a November 30, 2004 e-mail to a senior assistant of Petraeus, Stoffel stated, "If we proceed down the road we are currently on, there will be serious legal issues that will land us all in jail".

[8] He met with Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who wrote to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on December 3, 2004, on Stoffel's behalf, urging the Pentagon to address the issue of payment to Wye Oak Technology with the Iraqi Minister of Defense, Hazim al-Shaalan.

With an introduction made by Republican insider Pat Templeton, Stoffel met with Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John A.

[3] This would prove useless as Shaw, himself under investigation by the FBI for corruption related to Iraq reconstruction contracts, was fired on December 10, 2004 - two days after Stoffel's death.