Vice-Admiral Tim Giardina, the high-ranking US Strategic Command naval officer caught up in a casino counterfeit chip investigation in Iowa is paying a heavy price for his poker playing penchant; he may have escaped civilian censure, but the parallel investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has seen him suspended from his sensitive nuclear duties and reassigned to the Naval Staff.
On Wednesday Giardina also suffered the indignity of being demoted a rank, according to Navy spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, who said that Giardina will drop in rank to two-star admiral.
The fact that the admiral has not been required to resign, and that civilian charges have not been laid against him, suggests that his involvement in the Iowa affair was probably peripheral at worst, but details on the probe are scarce.