A man who killed four people in a murderous rampage and then died in a shootout with police had twice worked at a nuclear power station where he would have had to pass a background check and psychological screening.
Officials at the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon said Carl Drega worked for a contractor at the plant for a month in 1992 and again three years later for a three-month stint.He was a millwright in the turbine building, which is separate from the reactor building, said plant spokesman Rob Williams.
"It was not sensitive work," Williams said. "The plant was shut down at the time. There was supervision and oversight by the radiological controls department."
Drega, 62, died Tuesday in a gun battle with officers after the four fatal shootings in Colebrook, N.H. His victims were two New Hampshire state troopers, a newspaper editor and a lawyer with whom he had a long-running dispute.
Officials said Drega never worked for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp., owner and operator of the reactor, but for a contractor.
In order to qualify for work as a contractor, Drega would have had to pass a background screening that includes a psychological check, Williams said.
The background check also involves reviews of educational, credit and criminal histories, and contacting three to four personal references.
Williams would not release the contents of the background check, citing confidentiality.