It's not just $30,000. A conviction would have meant the loss of his military retirement pay and benefits. Now that he is dead, his wife will keep his survivor benefit plan retirement pay and all the other military retirement benefits that go to widows.
Just maybe he felt so guilty about thar possibility, he committed suicide for the benefit of his family.
He did not do anything wrong.
If anyone felt guilty and wanted him to be dead, it wasn’t him. Suicide is for cowards. His statements to the WP are pretty good evidence that he was no coward shrinking from exposure. So what else was in the news the week of October 1? Any other dead bodies in the last month?