In the quiet community of White River Junction, Vermont, the life of 52-year-old Jeffrey "Iffy" Koloski came to a tragic end on April 22, 2019. A lifelong resident of the area, Mr. Koloski was a graduate of Hartford High School, class of 1984. For many years, he was a familiar face to locals, having worked at the P&C grocery store and later at the White River Junction Postal Processing Center before venturing into self-employment.
An avid outdoorsman, he found joy in hunting and shared this passion with his son. He was also a fan of NASCAR and dirt track racing.
Behind the backdrop of his quiet life, however, a legal storm was brewing. Just five days before his death, Mr. Koloski had signed a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was set to plead guilty to a federal charge of knowingly and intentionally using communication facilities to facilitate the distribution of heroin and oxycodone in Vermont and elsewhere, a crime that had occurred between July 2012 and August 2018. His cooperation with federal authorities meant he had agreed to waive a formal indictment by a grand jury.
The drug charge was connected to a larger federal investigation involving a major embezzlement case. Ryan Wall, the former operator of a West Lebanon payroll processing service, was facing charges of embezzling $1.2 million from clients. While Mr. Wall was the only individual charged in the embezzlement indictment, Mr. Koloski's legal troubles were intertwined with this wider-reaching federal probe.
On that Monday evening in April, Jeffrey Koloski's body was discovered next to a vehicle in a parking area off Old River Road in White River Junction. The cause of his death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His arraignment in federal court had been scheduled for May 16, a date he would never see. His sudden death left behind a grieving family, including his wife of 32 years, his son, his parents, and his brothers, as well as a community grappling with the unexpected loss and the unsettling details of the federal case that preceded it. A private burial was held at Pine Knoll Cemetery in Hanover, New Hampshire.
