The suspect, identified by state police as Kurt Meyers, also is believed to have blown up his house in the area, located about 70 miles west-northwest of Albany, according to a federal law enforcement source briefed on the investigation.

CNN: Four killed in upstate New York shootings, police say

"Elected officials, who pass planning applications are on the front line, because you could get an anonymous letter, or have your car blown up or your house, or you could get a bullet in the head because of this appetite for money - at any price, " says Bucchini.

BBC: Murder in Corsica: Assassination stains an island's image

His venture, Bigelow Aerospace , is using technology originally developed by NASA to develop inflatable habitats, each one of which could be shipped into space, blown up to about the size of a three-bedroom house and connected to a structure such as the International Space Station.

FORBES: The New Space Race