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This fall, as Thayer struggled with the Pentagon budget, he was reported to be increasingly distracted by his growing legal problems. Budget decisions on matters ranging from new weapons systems to new uniforms began to pile up on his desk; by mid-December the stack was 18 in. high.
Last week Thayer announced that he would devote his considerable energies and financial resources, reported to be about $12 million, to fighting the Government's lawsuit.
> Unlike many other officials in "legal trouble, Thayer did not try to hang on while the evidence trickled out. An inveterate crapshooter, he may have gambled unwisely with the SEC, but as a former test pilot, he apparently knew when to bail out. — By Evan Thomas.
Reported by Anne Constable and Bruce van Voorst/Washington, with other bureaus