Controversial IT contractor charged with murder
Braulio Castillo gained notoriety last year when Congress questioned the validity of his firm's service-disabled veteran-owned small business status. Now he stands accused of killing his estranged wife and co-owner, Michelle.
Braulio Castillo (Photo: Loudon County Sheriff's Office)
Braulio Castillo, the president of IT contractor Strong Castle, was arrested April 1 by Loudon County, Va., authorities and charged with first degree murder in the death of his estranged wife, Michelle.
Castillo gained notoriety as a result of a June 2013 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that examined the validity of the service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) status enjoyed by the firm he co-owned with his wife.
Castillo's disability arose from a sports injury incurred at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School. Additionally, Castillo's firm enjoyed a special status as a HUBZone company under a Small Business Administration program that gives preference to firms located in designated neighborhoods. SBA decertified Strong Castle's HUBZone status in May 2013, while the Department of Veterans Affairs affirmed Strong Castles SDVOSB status last September.
Strong Castle had software contracts with the IRS with a ceiling value of $500 million. The IRS canceled the contracts amid allegations that the agency's deputy director for IT acquisition, Greg Roseman, offered Strong Castle an inside track on the business. Roseman, described by Castillo as a friend, declined to testify before the oversight panel.
Castillo is being held without bond. The body of his wife was discovered March 20 in her home in Ashburn, Va.