Top Pentagon Official Suspended After Bizarre Parking Dispute in Capitol Hill Neighborhood: Report

A senior Pentagon official has been placed on paid administrative leave after a bizarre tale emerged of him stealing license plates off a nanny's car in Capitol Hill.

Bryan Whitman, the highest-ranking career civilian in the Defense Department's public affairs office, was charged last month with stealing a nanny's license plates in a dispute over a parking in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, according to a Washington Post report.

It all began April 4, when someone left a warning note on the windshield of a nanny who worked for a couple that lived in the neighborhood, the Post reported. The note warned that the nanny was "misusing" the visitor's pass, and that if it doesn't stop, the car would be towed.

Instead of reporting it -- or perhaps after finding out that what the nanny was doing was, in fact, perfectly legal -- the note-writer apparently took matters into his own hands, and two days later the nanny's license plates were stolen from her SUV. Two days after that, someone stole another plate, and then again in late April -- this time, caught on video camera by the couple.

Police identified the culprit as Bryan Whitman, who lived around the corner. Whitman, 58, was charged with three counts of misdemeanor theft. He agreed to a deal earlier this week that could involve a fine and community service, the Post reported.

A day after the story came out, the Post reported today that the Pentagon has now placed Whitman on leave.

Image via the Department of Defense