"There's no way in hell you can cost justify $200+ bucks a pop on this
issue."

Sure I could.  We do that sort of thing all the time, and have at other
places I worked too.  You should see the hoops we jump through to
decommission a server to donate it to charity.  Really it all depends on
how much security you feel you need, how much money the client is worth to
you, and what regulations you have to abide by.  All I'm saying is, if
their business is worth several thousand dollars a year, 2 bills shouldn't
be too hard to stomach for far better security.  If you're happy with a
technique you found, go with it.

"Anyone else interested in this stuff might find this link worthwhile:
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html"

Nice link.

- Kevin