Death of ex-Pa. energy lab official ruled suicide
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The death of a former National Energy Technology Laboratory director who had been indicted by a grand jury has been ruled a suicide.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the ruling came Tuesday from the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office.
The body of 54-year-old Anthony Cugini was found Jan. 8 in a dry creek bed in Wingfield Pines Conservation Area, just outside his hometown. Pathologists determined that he died of hypothermia.
A Pittsburgh grand jury indicted Cugini on obstruction of justice charges in November. He was accused of having hindered an investigation into possible misuse of his position.
Cugini became the lab’s director in 2010 and resigned in October. The lab owned by the U.S. Department of Energy works to produce affordable energy and enhance energy security.