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David Powell, Former Partnership Executive Accused Of Embezzlement, Found Dead

David Powell (photo courtesy of Triad Business Journal).

The former Triad economic development executive who was accused of embezzling from the Piedmont Triad Partnership has committed suicide.

David M. Powell was found dead in his parents' home Saturday morning in Kure Beach.

The News and Record reports that Powell, who was 52, had lived in Wilmington for the past year under the name Finley Powell. He was managing a local theater and pursuing other business interests.

Powell was charged in January 2016 with two counts of embezzling more than $240,000 from the partnership, which is the Triad's main economic development agency.

The case was on hold as outside investigations continued.

Powell's attorney, Locke Clifford, said in a statement Sunday that Powell was suffering from depression and killed himself. Clifford declined to say how Powell died.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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