A whistleblower in July told Defence Force bosses that its chief scientist gave false information on his CV.Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae said Stephen Wilce, head of the Defence Technology Agency (DTA) and New Zealand's chief defence scientist for th
A whistleblower in July told Defence Force bosses that its chief scientist gave false information on his CV.
Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae said Stephen Wilce, head of the Defence Technology Agency (DTA) and New Zealand's chief defence scientist for the past five years, had resigned.
"We were alerted through an anonymous set of information that we investigated," Lt Gen Mateparae said.
After preliminary queries the force decided in-depth inquiries were needed.
The case raised employment, security and credibility issues.
"We need to make sure we do things properly otherwise on one hand we leave ourselves open to litigation and on the other hand we may be unfair in terms of how we tread."
TV3's 60 Minutes reported last night that Mr Wilce made extravagant claims about his background, including that he had a distinguished combat career.
Mr Wilce told a reporter posing as a recruitment consultant he was a member of the British Olympic bobsleigh team in the 1980s. The programme's investigations alleged that many of his claims were false.
Mr Wilce's job means he holds the highest levels of security clearance. The DTA provides important advice to the military on technology and scientific matters, such as electronic surveillance and defence systems for navy ships, as well as classified advice to the Government on threats to air force aircraft in Afghanistan.
