A federal prosecutor whose 2003 death remains unsolved was asked to take a lie detector test as part of an investigation into the disappearance of about $36,000 in evidence shortly before he was found stabbed and drowned in Pennsylvania, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Some investigators believe the looming polygraph test supports the theory that Jonathan P. Luna, a 38-year-old prosecutor in Baltimore, took his own life, the Post reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with the investigation.
FBI spokesman Barry Maddox said investigators are considering the possibility that Luna's death was suicide, a random act of violence or premeditated murder.
According to the Post, three shrink-wrapped stacks of $20 bills from a bank robbery case that Luna helped prosecute in 2002 disappeared. In the weeks before his death, Luna postponed his polygraph examination at least once, citing his workload, the newspaper said.
One source told the Post that investigators discovered after Luna's death that more than $10,000 came into his possession shortly after the evidence from the robbery case disappeared. The source said investigators could not determine conclusively how Luna obtained the money.
Many people who are thought to have had access to the missing cash, including building custodians and the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case with Luna in 2002, took polygraph tests, the Post reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/ap_on_re_us/slain_prosecutor
