Joe Stack’s Intriguing Connections With Defense Contractors, Intelligence Agencies (PrisonPlanet.com)

Austin suicide pilot Joe Stack kept some very interesting company as far as the client list for his software programming company is concerned, including a defense contractor with NSA and Homeland Security connections that ironically dealt with air defense systems.

The Georgetown Airport hanger in which Stack’s ill-fated Piper Cherokee was kept was jointly leased by Stack and a man called John Podolak, records show.

The Of Goats and Men blog highlights the fact that Podolak was appointed in 2004 to manage L-3 Avisys’ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Counter-MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) initiative.

L-3 Avisys is a defense contractor with its main headquarters based in Austin Texas which sells products and works closely with the Department of Defense and unnamed “U.S. Government intelligence agencies”.

Podolak was hired to “oversee a strong team of more than 10 IRCM defense suppliers who will perform research studies and lead the transition of the team’s proposed CAPS (Commercial Airliner Protection System) technology to the airline industry.”

L-3 was also a key client for Stack’s software programming business. Stack helped develop a GPS-based Fight Management System for IEC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of L-3.

L-3 was also investigated by the SEC for its role in the suspicious number of “put options” on United and American Airlines, speculation that a company’s stock will fall, in the days before 9/11.

From the website of Level 3 Communications:

John Podolak to Oversee Transition of Team’s Anti-Missile System to Commercial Applications

AUSTIN, Texas, February 25, 2004 – AVISYS, Inc., a defense technologies and system integration company, today announced John Podolak as the infrared countermeasure (IRCM) program manager for its Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Counter-MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) initiative. Podolak will oversee a strong team of more than 10 IRCM defense suppliers who will perform research studies and lead the transition of the team’s proposed CAPS (Commercial Airliner Protection System) technology to the airline industry.

In keeping with an “airline-centric” solution, Podolak brings a wealth of commercial aviation experience to the United Airlines (OTCBB: UALAQ: OB) led team. The team was one of the three companies awarded a $2 million contract in early January by the DHS Counter-MANPADS Special Projects Office. The award represents Phase I of a two-year, $100 million DHS research and development program to design and demonstrate infrared countermeasures) against the potential MANPADS missile threat to U.S. commercial airliners. AVISYS is the IRCM technology lead and systems architect for CAPS.

“Having led teams that load and maintain expendable countermeasures (ALE-39) and having trained pilots to defensively employ them, John Podolak is the perfect choice to lead the transition of this technology to the airline industry with our team,” said Ron Gates, president of AVISYS, Inc. “CAPS provides an affordable and highly effective countermeasures capability for both wide- and narrow-body aircraft. John and his experienced IRCM team will help prove CAPS is the best solution for DHS and the commercial airline industry.”

Podolak is a veteran pilot of two major airlines, having flown several U.S. commercial aircraft including the A-320 and B-727. As a former naval officer flying the S-3B Viking, Podolak served as a Weapons Training Officer and as an Avionics/Armament and Quality Assurance Division Officer.

“Our team is a highly qualified mix of companies experienced in all aspects of the aviation industry and in airborne self-protection systems,” said John Podolak, IRCM program manager for AVISYS DHS Counter-MANPADS Program. “We will work to define a system design and implementation approach for our CAPS solution while being sensitive to the demands of airline operations.”

A Naval Academy graduate, Podolak recently served as a reservist at Central Command during the Iraq war. Since then, he has been serving as a program manager in support of AVISYS Air Force operations in San Antonio, Texas. Podolak is also a flight instructor and an award winning aerobatic and glider pilot with experience in over 50 different aircraft.

IRS worker killed in crash was a loyal family man (AP):

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said his wife, Sheryl Stack, and her daughter had left the couple’s home Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel but would not elaborate. Acevedo said police had no reports of domestic violence at the home.

Stack’s daughter from his first marriage, Samantha Dawn Bell, said the Web manifesto didn’t sound like the father she knew.

“It’s not him. The letter itself sounds like it’s coming from a different person,” she said in an interview from her home in Norway.

Stack also lashed out at his Austin-based accountant Bill Ross in the anti-IRS screed. In a statement, Ross said Stack hired him for tax help in 2008 but the pilot had failed to give him all his financial information, resulting in an IRS audit.

Ross said when Stack ignored the audit and his advice, he ended the business relationship and had not been in touch with him since October.

Related posts:

1. Half of the members of the “independent” Quadrennial Defense Review panel have ties to defense contractors
2. Joe Stack Aftermath
3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Defense Critical Infrastructure Program (DCIP)
4. Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
5. CIA hired Blackwater for assassin program