Another one takes a nose-dive

As part of Washington's image machinery for more than two decades, Edward von Kloberg III did his best to sanitize some of the late 20th century's most notorious dictators as they sought favors and approval from U.S. officials.

A legend of sorts in public relations circles, he counted as clients Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Samuel Doe of Liberia; Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania; and Guatemalan businessmen who supported the country's murderous, military-backed government.

[...]

In a life full of flamboyance, his end followed form: the District of Columbia resident, 63, leapt to his death Sunday from "a castle in Rome," a State Department spokeswoman said. Von Kloberg's sister said a long note was found on the body, and U.S. Embassy officials in Rome told her that he committed suicide.

  Indy Star article

"Tyrants' Lobbyist, Flamboyant to the End" is The Washington Post's headline for von Kloberg's apparent suicide last week by "flinging himself" from a tower of Rome's Castle St. Angelo. The Post neglects to mention that found in his pocket was a 1997 issue of Prime Magazine, featuring a cover photo of von Kloberg and George Herbert Walker Bush.

Even though, as we've noted, the CIA's declassified assassination manual advises that "the most efficient accident, in simple assassination, is a fall of 75 feet or more onto a hard surface," it's possible von Kloberg jumped. (He left a note for Italian police, which claimed he was despondent over his former boyfriend's refusal to resume their relationship.) But it's also likely that von Kloberg had made many enemies over the course of his peculiar career. And it is possible some powerful enemies were made fairly recently.

[...]

What I find most provocative is the symbology that von Kloberg carried to his death an eight-year old magazine bearing the image of GWH Bush. What was intended by such a gesture? A nod to the glory days of his past? But von Kloberg enjoyed many honours, both from his international clients and from Washington society. It's hard to believe an old magazine would mean so much. Besides, his note claimed his broken relationship as the reason for his suicide. So why carry a picture of Bush to his death, rather than a portrait of his former boyfriend? Was he sending some other message, or - if it was an assisted suicide - what message were his killers transmitting?

  Rigorous Intuition post

I never did find out anything more about John Kokal's mysterious nose-dive. It also seems that most of the links I provided about that case on my web page seem to no longer be working.

Somebody else connected with the Bush administration took a nose-dive right around that time, but I can't now recall who it was.

Update 6:15pm: The other guy was Gus Weiss.