Laurie Bennett - Howard "Cookie" <, State Department inspector general, recused himself this week from the ongoing probe of Blackwater Worldwide after learning that his brother sits on the company's advisory board.

When questioned Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Krongard at first said his brother did not hold the position.

But during a break in the hearing, Krongard checked with his brother and learned otherwise. It was at that point, Dana Milbank later wrote in the Washington Post, that "Cookie's credibility crumbled."

Blackwater, which provides security to State Department employees, is being investigated by Congress and other government agencies for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis.

The committee had obtained a July 26 letter from Blackwater CEO Erik Prince inviting Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard to accept a seat on the board, as well as a Sept. 5 email thanking him for accepting the invitation.

Upon learning of his brother's post, Krongard told the committee: "I'm not my brother's keeper, and we do not discuss our business with each other. We have gone to great lengths to keep our professional experiences separate, because of his position and because of my position."

Buzzy Krongard is even more connected that his brother. He's former executive director of the CIA, former chairman of Alex Brown and a director of Iridium Satellite.

His wife, Cheryl Gordon Krongard, is a director of Legg Mason, Rothschild Asset Management and US Airways, and a regent of the University System of Maryland.

Cheryl Krongard's first husband, New York Realtor Edward S. Gordon, died in 2000. Buzzy Krongard also lost his first spouse, Patricia Lion Krongard, whose sister is Broadway producer Margo Lion.

Blackwater's courting of Krongard just days before Prince appeared before Congress indicates an ongoing effort to strengthen government connections, particularly to the State Department and the CIA.

The company's vice chairman, Cofer Black, was CIA director of counterterrorism. Black is also chairman of another private security company, Total Intelligence Solutions, whose president is Robert Richer, former associate deputy director of the CIA. Enrique Prado, Blackwater VP and COO of Total Intelligence Solutions, was a senior executive officer with the agency.

This article was published at Muckety

Laurie Bennett is a co-founder of Muckety, as well as a co-founder of ePodunk, a community-information web site that was sold to Internet Brands in June 2007. Her journalism career spans 30 years, including positions as city editor of the Rochester (NY) Times-Union, government reporter for Gannett News Service in Washington, investigative reporter for the Detroit News and new media editor for the Detroit Free Press.

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