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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Latest on question claims made by a high-level State University of New York official (all times local):
3:50 p.m.
A high-ranking New York university official has resigned after his story about surviving a deadly bombing in Afghanistan and other claims were challenged by a newspaper.
The State University of New York Upstate Medical University announced Monday that senior vice president Sergio Garcia resigned his $340,000-a-year job effective immediately. Officials had asked him to resign.
The Times Union of Albany reports that Garcia in a videotaped speech last fall said that he was at the scene of a 2011 bombing in Afghanistan, and that former Secretary of State Colin Powell offered him a job after an interview.
The newspaper reported the bombing Garcia described actually happened in 2013, after he had left the country. A spokeswoman for Powell said there is no record of that meeting.
12:05 p.m.
The State University of New York has placed a high-ranking official on leave after a newspaper questioned a story he told about surviving a bombing in Afghanistan and other claims.
The Times Union reports SUNY Upstate Medical University senior vice president Sergio Garcia said in a videotaped speech last fall that he was at the scene of a 2011 bombing in Afghanistan, and that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is his close friend.
The newspaper reported the bombing Garcia described actually happened in 2013, after he had left the country. Rice was not immediately available for comment.
The university in Syracuse announced Sunday it placed the $340,000 staffer on leave while it investigates.
University officials declined requests for comment from Garcia.
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