Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 4, 1990                   TAG: 9006040169
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX                                LENGTH: Medium

DOCTOR INJURED BY MAIL BOMB

Investigators combed the charred and damaged office of Paul J. Peckar on Saturday, nearly filling a U.S. mail truck with potential pieces of the puzzle.

Other investigators have been interviewing family members, friends and colleagues in search of a motive in the bombing, which occurred about 1 p.m. Friday in Peckar's third-floor office, postal inspector D.J. Turner said.

Turner said the issue of patient confidentiality would have to be addressed before postal inspectors can review the psychiatrist's files for possible suspects.

"It's such a sensitive area," said Turner. He said no motive has been established.

Turner said the U.S. attorney's office has been consulted, and possible steps for gaining access to the files include obtaining a court order, having another doctor review them or seeking permission from Peckar.

"We have devised a mechanism that provides the most possible protection of the physician-client relationship while allowing us to proceed with the investigation," said U.S. Attorney Henry E. Hudson.

Hudson said no specific federal statute regulates privacy issues relating to the case. "It's a careful exercise in the use of legal principles, ethics and common sense," he said.

Peckar, 50, who suffered severe burns over 30 percent of his body when his clothes caught fire, underwent surgery Friday for blast injuries. He was being treated in Washington Hospital Center's burn unit.