This piece has already aired and will definitely be airing over the weekend.
You can see our
schedule at http://www.current.com/tv
War Stories' Have Some Facing Prison
August 18, 2008
The Oklahoman
John Smith said he was a Navy SEAL who was imprisoned in Vietnam after
his helicopter was shot down.
Troy Brodrick spoke in schools about his 30-year military career in
which he earned three Purple Hearts and flew President Eisenhower as an
Air Force One pilot.
William Whitely, a former University of Oklahoma professor, told stories
of his career as a Navy SEAL while he served as a mentor to Naval ROTC
students who wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Trouble is, they were lying.
Smith, Brodrick and Whitely are among a growing nest of military
imposters, people who make up military careers or exaggerate their
service.
Such lies might seem harmless, especially when legitimate veterans have
been known to tell aggrandized tales to make their service seem a bit
more exciting. But it's a source of frustration for those who truly
earned such accolades, and in many cases it's a violation of federal
law.
Steve Robinson is the real deal. He was with SEAL Team One for most of
the 1970s. He's written a book about unmasking SEAL imposters and has
worked with several Web sites that verify public claims of military
heroism.
The most common false claims are prisoner of war status and special
forces service, Robinson said. "Last year, 188 men graduated from
SEAL training, of 35,000 who joined the Navy," he said.
He said for every man on the front lines, there were several supporting
them in jobs like clerk, cook and truck driver.
"I have only met a couple of cooks and truck drivers from the
Vietnam War. Most were hunting Vietcong snipers in the elephant
grass," he said, referring to stories people tell.
Lies can be criminal
The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 makes it a federal crime to wear military
decorations and medals that weren't earned. Unauthorized manufacturing
or selling of such awards is also forbidden. Both can be punished by
prison time and fines, officials said.
Impersonating an officer and falsely claiming veteran status are also
crimes.
Mary Schantag is a researcher for the POW Network, a Web site that keeps
a database of known military imposters in an effort to discourage them
from spreading their false claims.
Schantag, whose husband is a disabled Marine veteran, said it's
difficult for the FBI and courts to track down and punish every
offender.
"Claiming medals that haven't been earned is a crime, but these
guys know they can get away with it," Schantag said. "There
isn't enough room in the justice system."
Schantag said the veterans who volunteer their time to unmask military
pretenders don't go to federal authorities unless the case is serious.
"We don't turn in the guy down the street who is wearing the Purple
Heart at the parade," Schantag said. "But if he has a Medal of
Honor hanging on his wall, and he's leading the parade and talking at
the local school, we might go to the FBI."
'A wake of victims'
Robinson and Schantag agree the problem has gotten worse since Desert
Storm in the early 1990s, with another spike since 9/11.
In January 2002, Robinson said, he was asked to check on more than 1,100
claims made by men who claimed to be SEALs. Three were legitimate.
Robinson said the most common offenders are veterans who embellish their
service.
Schantag said that it's a shame those who tell such lies can't take
pride in what they truly accomplished.
"They really want to be the hero elite, and they forget that it
takes every member of the military to make a mission successful,"
Schantag said. "It doesn't matter whether they are the clerk typing
in orders or the cook making meals or the guy on the front lines."
The ramifications of such exaggerations can go well beyond possible
criminal prosecution.
Schantag said she's seen marriages broken up, children who lost faith in
a parent and longtime friendships between veterans lost forever.
"What they are doing is devastating," Schantag said.
"They think it's a victimless crime, and it's not. They leave a
wake of victims."
Robinson said that even if the lies do not reach the threshold of being
a crime, that they are always demeaning to those who truly sacrificed
for their country.
"It's a huge travesty for the real men who earned it,"
Robinson said. "It's horribly frustrating"
65% believe firms need to do more to root out fakes
by
Andy
Sambidge
on Monday, 18 August 2008
ArabianBusiness.com
Tighter recruitment procedures need to be introduced across
Gulf-based companies to ensure employees have the qualifications they
claim to have.
More than 65 percent of people who took part in an online Arabian
Business poll on Sunday said they thought not enough was being
done to root out the imposters who come to the region looking for new
jobs.
The poll was carried out after it emerged that more than 180 people
from across the Gulf had been blacklisted for holding fake US academic
certificates.
Sixty-nine people from Saudi Arabia and 68 from the UAE are among
almost 10,000 people in total who have been named and shamed by the US
Department of Justice for purchasing fake high school and college
degrees from a “degree mill” based in Washington.
According to reports, those named include hundreds of people with
links to the US military, educational institutions, government and
security agencies such as the CIA.
And our poll revealed widespread concern that fake qualifications
could be used in the Gulf region to secure employment.
More than 35 percent of respondents said companies had to tighten up
their procedures when employing people while another 30 percent agreed
more must be done in a bid to raise the standard of employment in the
region.
A further 13 percent said local companies faced a tough task in
tracking the education and employment record of every would-be new
staff member because so many of them came from abroad.
This week's diploma fraud came to light following the indictment and
conviction of eight people involved in running the scam after being
apprehended by the US Attorney's Office in "Operation Gold
Seal".
The ringleader of the scam, a 58-year-old high school dropout, was
jailed for three years.
But 21 percent of people who took part in the Arabian Business
poll thought these cases were rare and that there wasn't really a
problem in the Gulf regarding people trying to fake qualifications.
Dick Agnew, a retired Army major, was hunting for a parking place at
Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport when something stopped him
cold.
Agnew had just passed a car bearing a rare Legion of Valor
license plate, an honor Texas reserves for its most exalted military
heroes.
"I know everybody's car," said Agnew, the Legion's
commander for north Texas who received the Distinguished Service
Cross in Korea after killing an enemy sentry in hand-to-hand combat
despite a broken ankle. "Nobody in our organization has a
maroon 2001 Chevy."
Agnew also recalled spotting a paper cutout of the Navy Cross,
the Navy's second-highest decoration for bravery after the Medal of
Honor, taped to the inside of the rear window. With a little
detective work, he determined that the car belonged to a screener
for the Transportation Security Administration assigned to DFW
airport.
Further checking showed the man wasn't a Legion member, did not
hold the Navy Cross and had no right to be sporting the Legion's
license plates.......
click the above link for entire
story.
Marine Corps Times has obtained records on Ben Chapman, Hollywood Star
and former Marine whose medals I questioned after the February 22 obit
was
widely published. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and a tragedy the
database called for by HR 3769 and S 2610 would have prevented. Watch
for
Just for the readers here...there are a number of military veteran
webpages, and talk forums, that are barely known or frequented by
"normal" people and all kinds of issues are discussed. One
consistant topic is fake soldiers and fake POWs.
Martial artists and cops don't really know about this fake thing and find
it boring or strange, or whatever. They don't have a dog in the
hunt, so to speak and ask, "who cares" But in their own worlds,
a fake cop gets arrested and a fake martial artist with the wrong dotted
"i" or mis-crossed "t" on a diploma is an
international MA scandal. When Darren Levine of Krav doesn't have two
signatures on a certificate, when a guy DARES to teach Combat Hapkido
without so-and-so's Korean blessing...it becomes the talk of the planet. Their
planet.
Or you ignore or condone all this fake behavior and say "who
cares?" then blow a cork when your computer program is copied, your
check is forged, or YOUR ID is stolen. And not see the similarities of the
big picture.
Cop. Soldier. Martial Artist. When you been one of something and worked
hard to be one, and some skunk comes along and pretends to be one and
tricks many people to believing, it stinks.
When we have a military section here, it is almost expected that this fake
topic comes up from time to time. The fake questions come from privates or
brigadier generals. The question is the question. They may have all kinds
of dogs in the hunt, because they raise dogs or have been in that kind of
hunt.
"What's your agenda?" is often asked of the questioner.
Well, how's about just sniffing out skunk fxxxx? As an agenda? I
don't know about you but it just irritates the hell out of me to see some
punk in Special Forces uniform, or wearing a Congressional Medal of Honor,
or lesser medals and they are flat, lying about it. What is my agenda? I
don't know exactly. Maybe its just sniffing out skunk fxxxx? I relate to
people who are bothered by these problems. Privates or generals.
These communities tend to police themselves. We now live in this rapid
info world where fakes cannot survive very long. Now, even post fakes from
the 70s, 80s and 90s , from the old slower world must try to hide their
old faking. We here, are just a small part of this rapid info community.
(AND, the ol' magazine man in me? Is a rookie, 1st amendment thinker and
not afraid of little controversy, a little debate, a little argument.)
QUOTE ... Recently
a friend of mine with PTSD
was qualified to receive disability payments after all his years of
suffering since the Vietnam "police action." The high-ranking
military doctors who interviewed him said they couldn’t believe he had
made it until now without committing suicide or going on a killing spree
[like so many others in their files]. He had been decorated for a Rambo-like
episode where he escaped and returned to kill his captors while rescuing
his comrades. In addition he had no idea of how many more
Vietnamese he had dispatched during that tour of duty. There can be a
heavy price to pay when you wake up from your delusions. His entire life
has been ruined and wasted. How many more of these wretched souls will
slip through the cracks to become ticking time bombs that our military
hospitals will only be able to treat after something horrific and
very preventable happens – and only if they are still alive? ...
The account
above of a friend of mine has been challenged by a researcher of the
period. Therefore I have checked two on-line lists he provided regarding
Vietnam Veterans' stories and claims. My friend's name does not appear on
either the list of known frauds or the list of documented heroes. His
story was included to highlight the ineffective treatment of our veterans
and the willingness of our government to use them as cannon fodder and
then neglect or ignore them. Documentation of the noted events may not be
possible because of privacy issues. I would not hesitate to withdraw the
segment if it is proves to be inaccurate. General Butler's Unquestioned
Indictment of the Military Industrial Complex is probably adequate proof
for anyone who wishes to substantiate the main focus of the article. The
best we can do for our military personnel is Not to send them to unlawful,
unconstitutional wars.
March
3, 2008
ENDQUOTE
HISTORICALLY INACCURATE NO MATTER WHAT THE NAME IS
military imposters
LA
Times Cover-Up?
FrontPage magazine.com - Los
Angeles,CA,USA
Recently discovered US Army documents offer a much clearer picture of
the military’s investigations of the VVAW’s lurid
allegations. ...
LA Times Cover-Up?
By Scott
Swett FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, March 13, 2008
Members of the radical group Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) are
busy preparing to host a new “war crimes” conference next month in
Washington. The event, billed as Winter
Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan, takes its title from the IVAW’s
namesake and mentor, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). However,
information has now come to light that profoundly undermines the VVAW’s
original atrocity claims.
Recently
discovered US Army documents offer a much clearer picture of the
military’s investigations of the VVAW’s lurid allegations. Of 76 Army
witnesses who appeared at the group’s 1971 “Winter Soldier”
conference, summary reports of the Army’s Criminal Investigation
Division (CID) investigations are available for 48. Three witnesses were
not identified. The rest failed to allege criminal acts and were
apparently not interviewed.
The Los Angeles Times had access to these records more than a year
ago. In a
long 2006 article on war crimes in Vietnam, reporters Nick Turse and
Deborah Nelson reported:
The Times examined most of the [Vietnam War Crimes Working Group]
files and obtained copies of about 3,000 pages – about a third of
the total – before government officials removed them from the public
shelves, saying they contained personal information that was exempt
[sic] from the Freedom of Information Act.
After the high-profile national debate during the 2004 campaign over John
Kerry’s 1971 recital of the VVAW’s atrocity allegations before a
Senate committee, it is difficult to imagine that the LA Times failed to
carefully examine the Army’s VVAW case reports. They must not have
pleased the paper’s editors, for the only report concerning a Winter
Soldier allegation the article cited was that for James Henry – the one
and only VVAW witness whose charges were found to merit additional
investigation by the CID.
Instead, the LA Times merely noted:
In 1971, Henry joined more than 100 other veterans at the Winter
Soldier Investigation, a forum on war crimes sponsored by Vietnam
Veterans Against the War.
The FBI put the three-day gathering at a Detroit hotel under
surveillance, records show, and Nixon administration officials worked
behind the scenes to discredit the speakers as impostors and
fabricators.
Co-author Turse was clearly well aware of the contents of the CID reports.
In a 2004
Village Voice article in which he attacked the Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth, he wrote:
The [National Archives] have hundreds of files of official U.S.
military investigations of such atrocities committed by American
soldiers. I've pored over those recordswhich were classified for
decadesfor my Columbia University dissertation and, now, this Voice
article.
Turse provided details of the CID investigations into the Winter Soldier
allegations:
Moreover, according to official records, CID investigators attempted
to contact 41 people who testified at the Detroit session, which
occurred between January 31 and February 2, 1971. Five couldn't be
located, according to records. Of the remaining 36, 31 submitted to
interviews...
Later in the article, Turse observed:
…some veterans told investigators after the WSI that they would
not offer any further testimony or would only speak before Congress or
a congressional committee.
However, Turse omitted the most basic fact about the CID’s VVAW
investigations – the fact that all but one case was closed as
unsubstantiated, demonstrably untrue, or for lack of evidence.
Instead, he listed examples of other crimes that were similar to those
alleged at WSI for which the CID had filed charges, implying that
therefore the VVAW’s claims must also be valid. What this little
exercise in innuendo really demonstrated was that military judicial
authorities took such allegations seriously and generally obtained
indictments when the evidence warranted – just the opposite of Turse’s
conclusion:
But in fact – and despite later claims to the contrary by their
pro-war critics – most of the Winter Soldier participants had
publicly given accounts with their own names, unit identifications,
dates of service, and sometimes rather detailed descriptions of
locations – namely, all the information needed to proceed with
investigations. In practically all the specific Winter Soldier cases,
such probes were never done.
The Army summary reports clearly show that this is untrue. When
information was available, the CID conducted investigations. However, the
most damning indictment of Turse’s reporting is his complete failure to
mention that at least ten VVAW activists repudiated
some or all of their testimony when interviewed by military
authorities.
Turse and the LA Times had good reason to believe that this information
would remain hidden. The War Crimes Working Group records at the National
Archives are no longer available to the public. Freedom of Information
requests made several years ago have not been filled, due to an immense
backlog in the process of redacting personal information.
Accurately reporting the results of the Army’s VVAW investigations would
significantly damage the longstanding leftist myth that we were the bad
guys in Vietnam: that the Americans, rather than the Vietnamese
communists, employed terror tactics against civilians as a standard policy
– a myth to which Turse and the LA Times are profoundly committed. They
evidently did not foresee the possibility that other researchers lacking
their bias might have also copied these documents while they were publicly
available.
The LA Times article also makes full use of another tactic favored by
anti-military writers: dwelling at length upon a small number of crimes
without providing any statistical context, to leave the impression that
such events are widespread and routine:
In addition to the 320 substantiated incidents, the records contain
material related to more than 500 alleged atrocities that Army
investigators could not prove or that they discounted.
In reality, significant numbers of crimes occur in every group with a
large population. For example, Detroit, population 1.5 million, recorded
more than 700 murders in 1971, the year the Winter Soldiers gathered there
to make their unsubstantiated atrocity claims.
In January of this year, the New York Times published
a long article detailing violent crimes that veterans committed after
returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Times carefully
avoided pointing out that civilians actually commit
such crimes at a significantly higher rate. In 2004, the newspaper
treated its readers to more than 50 front page stories on a minor prison
abuse scandal in Iraq that military officials had uncovered and were
already handling. The purpose of such slanted reporting is obvious: to
persuade the public to view the US military with distrust and contempt.
As the LA Times prepares for its next
round of layoffs, polls indicate that the number of news consumers who
do
not trust the old media is still rising. One reason for this is the a
steady increase in public awareness of how these news organizations
systematically distort and conceal any information that contradicts their
political agenda.
Wikipedia
shows all these awards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Walkabout
) as did the USA Today Article. At the time of the obits the AP and
numerous other articles published the same list of awards.
September 28th Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote a
letter to the CEO of Clear Channel Communications, Inc., in an effort
to get Rush Limbaugh off the air by falsely stating that "Rush
Limbaugh's recent characterization of troops who oppose the war as 'phony
soldiers' is an outrage."
On October 1, Senator Tom Harkin on the floor of the senate, said,
"The very thought of Rush Limbaugh sitting in his air-conditioned
broadcast studio and ranting about 'phony soldiers' in Iraq who dare to
speak their mind is just shameful. Perhaps in Mr. Limbaugh's case the
correct word is 'shameless.'
Rush Limbaugh did mention "phony soldiers." But why would that
be an "outrage" or "shameful?" Phony soldiers do
exist. And, in fact, many "anti-war activists" who have been
given considerable publicity by claiming to be soldiers who witnessed
atrocities were never actually soldiers and were never ON the battlefield.
Others were at some point soldiers, but never were where they claimed to
be nor could they have seen what they claimed to have seen.
During Rush Limbaugh's broadcast that Sen. Reid referred to, he was
talking about a man named Jesse MacBeth, who WAS a phony soldier and who
had just been the subject of an ABC
broadcast on September 21st which stated, in part that "Jesse
Adam Macbeth, 23, pleaded guilty to charges he faked his war record."
In other words, Macbeth pleaded guilty of BEING a "phony
soldier" when he pleaded guilty, just a week ago! He claimed to be a
U.S. Army Ranger in Iraq who killed men and women as they left a Baghdad
mosque and had receiving the Purple Heart for injuries he falsely claimed
he suffered in combat.
His deceptive interview was translated into Arabic and distributed
throughout the Middle East where it was read by millions, and created
hostility towards US Servicemen both in Iraq and at home.
In May of 2007 ABC
ran another story about another "phony war hero" named David
McClanahan, of Fort Worth, Texas, who claimed he had been wounded in
combat three times in Iraq, awarded three Silver Stars and even nominated
for the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was all lies. Douglas Carver, a
special agent in charge of the Veterans Administration Inspector General
operation, noted in the McClanahan case: "The phony war hero
phenomenon plagues the American landscape and tarnishes the service of
thousands of veterans who have served honorable. "
In fact, "phony soldiers" have been such a serious problem that
last year the US Congress passed a bill called "Stolen Valor "
which was introduced by Rep. John Salazar's (Democrat-Colorado) making it
a felony to BE a phony soldier. During the Congressional debate on the
Stolen Valor bill, Rep.
Salazar said: "In addition to diminishing the meaning, on several
occasions phonies have used their stature as a decorated war hero to gain
credibility that allows them to commit more serious frauds.
"B.G. Burkett's award winning book, 'Stolen Valor' , first exposed
the problems of these medals fraud. The authors show that killers have
fooled the most astute prosecutors and gotten away with murder. They show
phony heroes who have become the object of national award-winning
documentaries on national network television. They show liars and
fabricators who have flooded major publishing houses with false tales of
heroism which have become best-selling biographies."
President Bush signed the Stolen Valor bill into law in December of 2006
and a number of arrests have taken place as a result. Now we have Democrat
leaders in Congress telling us that ENFORCING a law introduced by a
Democrat and which they voted for is "shameful" or "an
outrage?"
Other "phony soldiers" have been caught officiating at the
weddings and funerals of Marines, participating in opening ceremonies for
a State Senate, getting treatment from VA hospitals and being quoted in
testimony given by John Kerry 36 years ago to the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
Kerry stated in that testimony that he was "representing all those
veterans" as a member of an organization called Vietnam Veterans
Against the War (VVAW) who had told him "their experiences" some
months before in a Detroit meeting: "We had an investigation at which
over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans
testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated
incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full
awareness of officers at all levels of command....
"They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off
ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human
genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly
shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan,
shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged
the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war,
and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied
bombing power of this country."
Who, exactly WERE those "honorably discharged and highly decorated
veterans" who claimed they had committed those crimes? It has taken
years and some research into actual military records, but we now know that
in the course of trying to raise money for a Texas Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, B.G. Burkett, author of Stolen Valor — How the Vietnam
Generation was Robbed of Its Heroes and History, MOST of those
"soldiers" John Kerry claims told those stories were phony
soldiers!
Burkett did something that any reporter could have done: he used the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to check the actual records of the
"image makers" used by reporters to flesh out their stories.
What he found was astounding. More often than not, the showcase
"veteran" who cried on camera about his dead buddies, about
committing or witnessing atrocities, or about some heroic action in combat
that led him to the current dead end in his life, was an impostor — in
other words — a "phony soldier."
Indeed, Burkett discovered that 1,700 individuals, including some of the
most prominent examples of the Vietnam veteran as dysfunctional loser, had
fabricated their war stories. Many had never even been in the service.
Others, had been the services, but had never been in Vietnam.
Burkett's book, Stolen Valor, which was published in 1998, made it clear
why and how John Kerry's testimony in 1971 slandered an entire generation
of soldiers. Now, the Stolen Valor law is allowing honest people to
actually DO something about phony soldiers who tell lies about real
soldiers and real heroes. Only, now honest people who do something about
phony soldiers are being attacked!"
It appears that Rush Limbaugh or any other talk show host or reporter
looking for the facts about the phonies will be attacked. Obviously, the
truth about phony soldiers could change the way people vote in 2008.
What we are dealing with here is massive deception that has been going on
and has been very successful in confusing a lot of people for many years.
And, of course, other people in the anti-war movement, politics and the
media now have a vested interest in keeping that deception going in order
to preserve their reputations — and their incomes.
Mary Mostert is a
nationally-respected political writer. She was one of the first female
political commentators to be published in a major metropolitan newspaper
in the 1960s. After working in President Lyndon Johnson's failed War on
Poverty programs in New York state, she became a Republican. She ran,
unsuccessfully, for the New York State Senate and became campaign manager
for a number of candidates. She once served as the secretary of
"Positive Action NOW!"--a South African women's group that
sought to reduce the hostility among South Africa's various racial,
religious, and political groups.
In recent years, Mary has researched, written, and edited articles for
national talk show host Michael Reagan's Information Interchange on the
Internet, and for The REAGAN MONITOR, a monthly newsletter that provides
in-depth information on key issues. Her book, COMING HOME - Families Can
Stop the Unraveling of America," was published in 1996 by Gold Leaf
Press. Mary maintains a political media site, Banner
of Liberty. She can be contacted at mary@
bannerofliberty.com. Click here
for more information.
SAN ANTONIO -- Imposters
claiming to be members of the American Red Cross are targeting
families of the military in an attempt to steal their identity,
officials said.
Con artists are calling families on the telephone
and telling them their loved has been injured in battle but can't be
helped, said Michael Bennett of the San Antonio chapter of the
American Red Cross.
Bennett said the caller identifies themself as a
member of the Red Cross and says in order to get the GI treatment,
they need personal information, like a Social Security number and a
date of birth.
Bennett said that the Red Cross does not make
those type of phone calls.
"The Red Cross does not notify families of an
injury to a service member, the military makes those
notifications," Bennett said.
He added that the Red Cross does inform service
members about emergency situations taking place at home, not the
other way.
Bennett urged relatives if they don't know if the
call is legitimate, to hang up and call the Red Cross at
210-224-5151 to verify if the phone call. Relatives are also urged
to call police to report the call.
Impersonating a Red Cross member is punishable by
up to five years in prison.
Veteran's Powwow still on this weekend
Rebecca Long
Staff Writer, Daily Tribune
Published October 18, 2007 11:28 PM CDT
The Fifth Annual Veteran's Powwow scheduled for this
weekend is still on, according to Euharlee City Council members. Rumors of
the possible cancellation of the event brought out a near-capacity crowd
Wednesday to the work session and called meeting where police officers
used handheld metal detectors to guarantee public safety.
"There have been four [powwows]," Councilman
Joe Turner said, adding that the events had always gone peacefully.
"This would be the fifth."
The organizers of the Powwow were asked to attend the
night's meetings to respond to concerns about safety after allegations
surfaced about five men and women who helped to organize the event.
Subsequent threats to the representative of the group making the
allegations, David Schultz, and rumors of retaliation were also raised as
concerns.
"We have no intention of disrupting anything,"
Schultz said, adding that the group only planned to hand out leaflets of
information about the allegations. "If we do anything, we will do it
quietly."
When asked by Mayor Kathy Foulk about the possibility of
litter from the handouts, Schultz responded that his group would only hand
one to each interested person and would do what they could to avoid a
problem from discarded paper.
"If that happens, I'll come back Sunday night
myself and pick them up," Schultz said.
Schultz, who represents the Commission to Restore Honor
to Our Veterans, used his five minutes before the council to allege that
the four men and one woman had lied about their service in the military.
The allegations also include claims that some of the five have worn
military medals and awards they have not earned, a federal offense since
last year. The group, which he described as a "loose
confederation," has researched the military records of the
individuals through the government and Internet channels.
Originally, Schultz requested the five be removed from
the commission. However, the city council has no authority to regulate
commission members, as the event is not city sanctioned or sponsored. The
only official capacity of the city was to agree to allow the event to take
place in a city park by a vote Feb. 6.
"The city would have no function to remove
anyone," City Attorney Boyd Pettit said.
The event's co-chair, Sam Hinson, that the actual
commission only consists of two people. The commission, which is not
incorporated or sponsored by the government, relies on volunteers,
including several against whom allegations were made.
For the full story, please read The Daily Tribune News.
Call 770-382-4545 to subscribe.
See Wihuna "Fire" Joyner, Gerald Smith, Keith Smith, Joey
Pierce in the "Heroes or Villains" lists
If
you missed the ABC Evening NEWS on Stolen Valor and information on
09/21/07 bust in Seattle, it is now out there at several locations
including U-Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUJJoFaiVI
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 24, 2007 11:16:48 EDT
Written in the former sailor’s cursive handwriting on his claim for
mental health benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs is an
elaborate story about how Larry Porter supposedly was tossed into 18
feet of water at boot camp when it was known he couldn’t swim.
“I was … told to swim or die,” wrote Porter, of Seattle.
“When they pulled me out, I thought I was dead.”
He went on to tell of how he watched a civilian worker die after
falling from the side of a ship in a California shipyard.
Based on these claims, Porter, who served in the Navy for 15 months
in the 1970s, obtained $134,000 in VA disability benefits and $40,000
from the Social Security Administration from 1999 to 2006.
It all turned out to be false. Porter is in a jail cell serving a
three-year sentence, and was forced to repay all money he accepted from
VA and Social Security.
Justice Department officials in Washington state detailed Porter’s
story, along with seven other people accused of — or already convicted
of — being military frauds, during a news conference Friday on VA
fakers.
“We take it seriously because this money is meant for veterans, not
for fakers,” James O’Neill, assistant inspector general for the
VA’s office of investigations, told Military Times.
“Every dollar that’s lost to a faker is one more dollar that
can’t be spent on a veteran,” said O’Neill, whose office is
responsible for rooting out those who defraud VA.
The news conference was held the same day that Jesse MacBeth, a
former soldier who served in the Army only 44 days and didn’t finish
basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., pleaded guilty to making false
statements about his service and was expected to be sentenced.
MacBeth filed discharge documents with VA stating that he served
three years and separated as a corporal after deploying to Afghanistan
and Iraq, said Ronald Friedman, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western
District of Washington state. He also claimed to have earned a Purple
Heart and a Ranger tab, VA officials said.
MacBeth’s VA claim was denied, but his storytelling didn’t stop
there. He produced anti-war videos claiming he killed innocent Iraqis
after being ordered to do so, Friedman said. The videos were translated
into Arabic for Middle East audiences, Friedman said.
An alleged phony from the list, Merrick Hersey, is a fugitive after a
warrant for his arrest was issued in Washington, Friedman said. Hersey
is accused of filing a false military discharge document stating that he
served in the Marine Corps in 1967 and 1968 to obtain VA benefits,
according to VA officials.
He claimed to have earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star as a
rifleman based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., before receiving an honorable
discharge, according to the DD-214, a military discharge document, that
he submitted.
There are no official records to show that Hersey ever served in the
military, Friedman said.
The case against a former political official who claimed to be a
prisoner of war was also spotlighted Friday.
Former Army Spc. Michael Heit, a former chairman of the Constitution
Party of Montana who ran for a seat in the state legislature, pleaded
guilty to two counts of filing false DD-214s to VA and the Military
Order of the Purple Heart in 2005.
The forged discharge documents claimed Heit was a decorated Vietnam
veteran who earned a Bronze Star with combat “V” and three Purple
Hearts. He also claimed he was held prisoner by North Vietnam from 1969
to 1972.
One poser outed Friday never served a day in the military and isn’t
even a U.S. citizen, said Dennis Shen, deputy district attorney for
Multnomah County in Oregon.
Carlos Valle Rios, a resident alien from Peru, pleaded guilty in
January to “attempted aggravated theft in the first degree by
deception” for submitting a false claim to VA and discharge documents,
according to court papers.
Valle Rios claimed he earned a Purple Heart from his time as a World
War II pilot. He wrote in his claim that he was a member of the famed
Flying Tigers who secretly flew in China against Japanese forces before
the U.S. officially entered World War II.
Valle Rios, a registered sex offender, also was convicted of
illegally obtaining subsidized housing in Oregon. His sentence for
defrauding VA was two years’ probation, Shen said, adding that he is
in the custody of Immigration Customs Enforcement and is being
considered for deportation.
WA man pleads guilty to unlawfully collecting
Veterans benefits
Sep 19, 6:39 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) -- A 75-year-old man
pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to unlawfully
collecting Veterans Affairs benefits that totaled $120,452.
Stephen C. Bates, of Seattle, is scheduled to be
sentenced on December 18 by Judge Marsha J. Pechman.
According to the plea agreement, from 1996 through 2005,
Bates cashed monthly Veterans Affairs benefit checks from the U.S.
Department of Treasury that were intended solely for the benefit of his
mother, who had died. Bates' mother was the widow of a deceased veteran
and was entitled to the checks until her death.
The offense is punishable by up to 10 years in federal
prison.
(Contact: Emily Langlie, U.S. attorney's office in
Seattle, 206-553-4110)
Former Police Officer Gets 90 Days in
Jail for Faking Military Call-Up Saturday, August 25, 2007
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A former
police officer was sentenced to 90 days in jail for defrauding his
department by claiming he had been called to active duty in Iraq. He
actually had taken a civilian job in Tampa and was getting two paychecks.
Delray Beach Police officer Vincent Balestrieri,
37, was sentenced Friday by Broward County Circuit Judge William Berger
for defrauding the department out of $8,700.
In addition to lying about being called to Navy duty,
Balestrieri also received bereavement pay because he had claimed that his
mother had died. He acknowledged Friday that his mother was still alive.
Balestrieri blamed his actions on pressure from a Delray
Beach police captain to buy a home he couldn't afford from the captain's
wife. He also said his wife had medical bills he could not pay.
Instead of going to Iraq, Balestrieri was actually
working for defense contractor Lockheed Martin in Tampa. While there,
Balestrieri and his wife bought a $220,000 home.
Lockheed Martin fired Balestrieri last September.
Balestrieri joined the Navy Reserve in 1998, and
previously served for 13 years with the New York Police Department.
August
25, 2007
Military license fraud bill now law
By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@nwherald.com Comments
(1 comment(s))
Starting next year, falsely acquiring Illinois military license plates
will become an expensive and potentially embarrassing crime, to say
nothing of possible jail time.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed House Bill 362 into law this week, which makes
fraudulently acquiring military license plates punishable by a fine
between $1,000 and $2,500, and up to a year in jail.
The law was inspired by a Northwest Herald investigation in late 2005 into
the military record of former Marengo alderman Werner “Jack” Genot.
The alderman acquired two sets of specialty license plates through forged
discharge papers to back his fabricated war record.
“I think the men and women who have served this country so honorably
would really appreciate this,” said Dave Druker, spokesman for Secretary
of State Jesse White. “We commend the governor for signing it.”
White, an Army veteran, asked for the law after Chicago 11th Ward Alderman
James Balcer, a decorated Vietnam veteran, alerted him to the
newspaper’s story.
The new law takes effect Jan. 1. Ninety-nine percent of each fine will be
donated to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund.
The law is the latest in a string of legislation meant to crack down on
phony war heroes. The new federal Stolen Valor Act makes falsely claiming
military decorations punishable by six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. A
similar state law makes such an act punishable by a $200 fine.
Genot acquired ex-prisoner of war and Purple Heart license plates in 1992
to back his stories of serving in the Korean War as a Marine. In reality,
he never served a day in combat. Genot confessed he served in Europe in
the Army after the Korean War ended, where he received a
less-than-honorable discharge.
In 1992, a Kane County judge’s attempt to falsely acquire Medal of Honor
license plates cost him his job. White’s office in 2005 rescinded the
Silver Star plates of a longtime Springfield political adviser after a
weekly newspaper revealed that his discharge papers did not list the
award.
Genot’s term expired earlier this year, and he did not run for
re-election.
A FORMER soldier has
gone from hero to zero after his tales of heroism were exposed as
fantasy.
Fake war hero John
Bartley invented an Army record and took his story to the national media
in a bid to win a better ex-serviceman's pension.
Bartley, 38, did
actually serve in the Army from 1989 to 1995.
But rather than being
proud of his actual service, he bought medals on the black market and
created a new past.
He thought nothing of
wearing the Paras wings, which he never earned, and posing with a breast
full of medals while real heroes and their families pay a daily price in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
He claimed he was
shot in the leg by a Kalashnikov rifle, blown up by a landmine which put
him in a coma for seven months and survived a helicopter crash that saw
two soldiers beheaded.
He also said he was a
pathfinder behind enemy lines in Bosnia, claimed he made 20 jumps from
planes while in the Paras and served in the Gulf.
He tops off his
catalogue of lies by claiming his courage earned him medals for bravery
and left him crippled.
But the Record can
reveal Bartley served in the Paras for only a few weeks before leaving
to join another regiment.
Not only did he not
earn his wings, the Army say he probably never even completed one
parachute jump.
Yet that has not
stopped him using the media to tell tales of his heroics in the Gulf,
Bosnia and Northern Ireland.
Bartley has also
claimed he suffered severe injuries when a wall collapsed on him in
Ulster in a mortar attack.
But, in fact, he was
treated at the scene by a medic and was off work for just a day.
Bartley's real
military record shows tours in Northern Ireland, Canada, Cyprus and
Germany between 1989 and 1995.
His time in the
Parachute Regiment was only from January to April, 1989.
He was not shot by a
Kalashnikov nor in a helicopter crash that left two dead.
The Army describe the
chopper incident as a "rough landing" - a common hazard for
soldiers serving in Northern Ireland - but no one died.
He claims the
landmine incident in Bosnia, which left him in a coma, happened in 1999
when he was a pathfinder.
But by 1999, he had
already been discharged from the Army for four years.
Similarly, Bartley,
originally from Northern Ireland, but now living in Hamilton, never
served in the first or second Gulf Wars.
An Army source said:
"The Bosnia claims about the landmine and the coma are comical. UK
forces did not engage in undercover ops in Bosnia.
"The claim about
being shot by a Kalashnikov is also total nonsense."
As for his claims on
the 20 jumps in the Paras, an official document states: "Mr Bartley
only did three months in the Parachute Regiment and is unlikely to have
done any drops."
Bartley is rarely
seen in public out of the wheelchair he now uses.
He claimed recently
in a national newspaper he woke in 2003 to find he could not move his
legs.
He stated:
"Everything was numb. I was taken to hospital and two discs were
removed from my back.
"I was in
absolute agony. Everything has gone downhill since.
"The pain in my
back has increased and I have to wear plastic casing around my legs to
support them."
Bartley won the
sympathy of some newspapers, who took up his case for a full war
pension. He currently draws a 50 per cent pension, which Army sources
say is "very generous".
His real record also
qualified him to be allocated a veteran's house.
One veteran said:
"The very fact he is an ex-soldier in receipt of an Army pension
means he would qualify for a veteran's house.
"There is no
need to make up these ludicrous claims, other than for
self-gratification or to get the media onside for a better pension.
"He's happy to
talk to the press about his 'heroics' but with real soldiers, he clams
up in case he is rumbled."
Bartley also recently
posed with a real hero, Benny Gough, 91, of Hamilton. Benny, a Burma
Star medal holder, was a prisoner of war during Word War II.
When Benny and
Bartley presented a cheque for £100 to a local school earlier this
year, Benny would have had no way of knowing he was a fake.
An Army spokeswoman
confirmed Bartley had never earned his Paras wings and said the only
medal he would have qualified for was the Northern Ireland Service
Medal.
She said: "We
find this kind of thing thoroughly distasteful.
"No soldier
should claim medals or military honours which he has not earned.
"And he should
certainly not be making these claims in schools or in public."
When the Record put
the facts to Bartley, he was unrepentant.
He insisted: "I
haven't put myself forward for anything. Those dates you have are wrong.
"I've been
fighting the Ministry of Defence for quite a while. People have come and
spoken to me and I've just explained things to them.
"I've been
fighting a case with the Army for the last two years. Two of the medals
are not recognised officially."
Bartley also posed
for photos with a case full of medals.
Yesterday, one source
who has seen Bartley's medals up close, said: "Genuine medals have
inscriptions on the rim. I know his do not. They were most likely bought
on the internet."
August
14, 2007
Judge Orders Michigan Man to Scrub
Veterans Memorial With Toothbrush
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
AP/Saginaw News
Aug. 7: Philip
Kolinski stands in a downpour after cleaning a war memorial monument
in Saginaw, Mich.
A Michigan man scrubbed a monument to U.S.
troops with a toothbrush Tuesday while wearing a T-shirt that read
"I
Stole From Veterans" as part of a punishment for a scam to
solicit scrap yards for metal, the Saginaw News reports.
A judge ordered Philip
Kolinski, 73, of Carrollton Township, Mich., to wash the
veterans monument outside the Saginaw
County Governmental Center after he was found guilty of
soliciting metal donations for a sculpture dedicated to Iraq War
veterans that was never built, the Saginaw News said.
Instead of using the metal for a monument, he sold it
and kept the money, the paper reports.
Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank also ordered
Kolinski to to pay $9,000 in restitution and $2,095 in fees and fines.
A second man, James M. Arnst, 45, is awaiting trial
for his alleged role in the scam.
August
7, 2007
News
Cook sponsors Stolen Valor Act
by MICHAEL QUIGLEY
Staff Reporter
State Assemblyman Paul Cook, who
represents the 65th Assembly District, has announced that eight bills he
has sponsored have been approved by the assembly. These bills now move to
the state senate chambers for consideration.....
Finally, Cook has sponsored two bills related to
morals. The Adult Materials in Stores bill, AB 1067, would require store
owners to shield even the covers of adult materials from the sight of
children.
The Stolen Valor Act, AB 282, would make it a misdemeanor to display or
otherwise pretend to possess a military medal or decoration not actually
earned.
Cook, a decorated United States Marine Corps officer, now retired from the
service, did not indicate why he believes this kind of misrepresentation
warrants a criminal sanction other than that the misrepresentation
dishonors those who have earned the medals and decorations.
“I am especially proud that the legislation I've sponsored has sailed
through the assembly, most of it with strong, bi-partisan support,” Cook
said.
“My staff and I have worked very hard on this legislation,” he added.
“I intend to continue to promote each one of these bills as it passes
through the senate and on to the governor's desk for his signature.”
If you have any questions about these bills, you can reach either Cook or
his legislative aide, John Sobel, at the state capitol at (916) 329-2065.
You can also call the number of the local office in Yucaipa at 790-4196.
Update, Wed. 6:30 am: A no show in court for two men
accused of posing as soldiers and scamming victims for money and gasoline.
Police released surveillance video of one of the suspects last week at
an Evansville business where they say he scammed the owner for more
than $60 in gasoline.
Police believe the suspect in the video is 25-year-old Anthony Sartore.
He's charged with felony theft. While 19-year-old Andrew Thomas is charged
with attempted theft.
After being arrested Sunday night, both men were released on their own
recognizance and were supposed to appear before an Evansville judge Tuesday
morning.
Now the men, accused of dressing up as soldiers to scam their victims,
could be in more trouble, not only for failing to appear but because more
apparent victims are coming forward.
Robert D. Tiemann III is one of the victims to come forward on
Tuesday, "I found out this morning on the news, I saw his
picture and I knew immediately, the second I saw it, I said
that guy stole $20 from me last week."
While volunteering at his church, Tiemann says the men confronted him
in the church parking lot, "He starts telling me about how he was
coming down from Indianapolis to go to Fort Campbell and how he had gotten
lost and his car started sputtering on him because it had started to break
down on him because he was out of gas he said.
The same story the owner of Mr. Fence in Evansville heard last Tuesday.
And his surveillance video shows 25-year old Anthony Sartore, shaved head
and with a military shirt on, in his office asking for gas.
His scam worked, on owner Shawn King, because he got a full tank,
over 60 dollars worth, "I think at this point in the game they need
to be taught a lesson."
The two men also came stopped at Wolf's barbecue last Sunday night with
a familiar story. Wolf's Manager Ken Griffin didn't believe the men's
story, "A gentleman came in said he had gotten lost wanted to
know if there was money available to get back to Fort Campbell."
But Griffin didn't give in to the scam and did not offer any cash
to the two men and hopes they get the punishment they deserve, "I
don't know what the law is on that but I think it ought to be
maximum."
Police, the victims and others now know the scam works and hope to
prevent others from becoming victims.
King says he's learned a little something about trust, "In
our society we need to be able to trust people to a certain degree and be
able to help out our fellow citizens when they need help. Lesson learned
absolutely."
Evansville police say warrants for Sartore and Thomas were being
processed Tuesday afternoon but have not been issued. As of
Tuesday night they still face felony theft charges, but the investigation
continues.
UPDATE, 5PM TUE: Both men charged in the case,
25-year-old Anthony Sartore and 19-year-old Andrew Thomas of Evansville,
were released from jail on their own recognizance.
Evansville police tell 14 News they failed to appear at a scheduled
court hearing Tuesday morning, despite the fact that their charges had
been reduced to misdemeanors.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the pair, and more potential
victims have come forward. The manager of Wolf's Barbecue on North First
Avenue says one of the men came to the restaurant asking for
money just before his arrest Sunday evening.
Tune to 14 News at
10 Tuesday for video surveillance tapes of the alleged scammers in action
at another Evansville business.
A disturbing story came to light this Memorial Day. Two
Evansville men are accused of scamming victims out of money and gasoline
while pretending to be soldiers.
The two men shaved their heads, wore dog tags and fatigues and asked
victims to give them money or gas or both so they could get back to Fort
Campbell. They were very convincing, but thanks to an alert
Evansville firefighter, both men are behind bars.
In the Vanderburgh County Jail are 25-year-old Anthony Sartore of
Evansville, who has been charged with theft, and 19-year-old Andrew
Thomas, also of Evansville, who has been charged with attempted theft.
Police say Sartore went to a business, Mr. Fence, last week and
asked for money for gas. He convinced the owner to fill-up his gas
tank at a cost of about $50.
But Sartore was recognized when he tried the same thing at the
Evansville fire station on Mill Road. A part time employee at Mr.
Fence is also a firefighter. He immediately recognized Sartore when
he came to Hose House 17 and knew something was up.
Evansville police were called and the arrests were made Sunday
night. Evansville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Scott Hurt says, "They
are representing themselves as military soldiers. Mr. Sartore wore an
Operation Iraqi Freedom t-shirt with airborne on it, telling people he was
military, and that's wrong."
FBI agents and veterans will be on the lookout this Memorial Day
weekend for phony military heroes, a disquieting trend that officials
say has grown substantially in the years of the war with Iraq.
"I probably get three to five calls a day about someone spotted
with suspicious decorations," said Doug Sterner, who passes along
the tips to veterans groups and the FBI.
Sterner operates the Web site Home of Heroes, which is dedicated to
honoring true military heroes.
"I'll be damned if I sit idly by while some wannabe phony wears
awards that real heroes gave their lives for," Sterner said.
Among the most recent examples is Louis Lowell
McGuinn of New York City.
He claimed to be a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, often
appearing at military events wearing an impressive array of
decorations, including a Purple Heart, Silver Star and the
Distinguished Service Cross.
But law enforcement officials say it was a ruse and that McGuinn was
discharged from the Army in 1968 as a private, with none of the
decorations he claimed.
Last month, FBI agents arrested McGuinn and charged him with wearing
unearned medals and badges in violation of federal law. They say he
posed as a highly decorated military officer in order to get a job
with an underwater marine security company.
McGuinn pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail with his
travel restricted. When contacted by ABC News, he declined to comment
on the case.
The FBI and veterans groups say there are more and more decorated
phonies turning up every day, and when they are caught, the punishment
varies.
In one recent case in St. Louis, businessman Gerald
Weilbacher received only two years probation and a $3,000 fine
after pleading guilty to federal charges of wearing Marine Corps
medals he did not earn, including the Navy Cross, the Corps' second
highest medal.
The 400-pound Weilbacher never served in the Marines and was spotted
at one Marine Corps veterans event as a phony because "he was too
fat to be a Marine," according to one veteran.
In contrast, Michael Bramlett of Springfield, Mo.,
was sentenced to six months in federal prison without parole for
claiming to be a Marine Captain and wearing unauthorized medals that
included a Silver Star, Navy Cross and a Purple Heart for combat in
Iraq.
At his sentencing on April 3, U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman said,
"This impostor received the maximum penalty for his dishonorable
conduct. Such disrespect for the brave men and women serving in our
nation's forces won't be tolerated."
FBI Agent Michael Sandborn works to track down and expose phony
military heroes.
"In cemeteries overseas, there are 124,913 Americans who paid for
their Purple Hearts with their lives, and these impostors purchase
theirs over the Internet and at surplus stores," he told ABC
News.
Recent passage of the Stolen Valor Act now makes any misrepresentation
of military decorations punishable by up to a year in jail.
Watchdogs like Doug Sterner think that even with the tougher law,
military phonies will still be out there tarnishing the image of the
true military heroes.
Sterner says, "It's so prevalent that you're never going to catch
and prosecute all of them."
A proposal cracking down on military
license-plate fraud, inspired in great part by a former Marengo alderman,
is headed for the governor’s desk after clearing the state Senate.
The Senate on Wednesday voted, 55-0, to approve House Bill 362, which
makes fraudulently obtaining military plates a crime punishable by a fine
between $1,000 and $2,500, and up to a year in jail. Ninety-nine percent
of each fine will be donated to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund.
Secretary of State Jesse White, a veteran of the Illinois Army National
Guard and the 101st Airborne Division, asked for the law in December 2005,
after learning that former Marengo Alderman Werner “Jack” Genot
acquired ex-prisoner-of-war and Purple Heart license plates in 1992 with
forged discharge papers.
A Northwest Herald investigation in November 2005 revealed that Genot
fabricated his well-known military record and used the bogus discharge
papers to back it up. The House approved the bill, 116-0, on April 19.
“This puts individuals on notice that if by chance they want to falsify
[military] documents in order to get specialty license plates from the
Secretary of State’s Office, it just won’t happen, and if by chance
they’re successful, there’s a penalty they must pay,” White said.
Spokesmen for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said they did not yet reviewed the
bill, but they do not anticipate the governor opposing it, given its
unanimous backing by both houses. Blagojevich signed similar legislation
last year that made it a crime punishable by a $200 fine to wear or claim
valor medals that were not earned legitimately.
Genot’s case was the latest of several high-profile incidents in which
officials illegally tried to obtain military license plates. Illinois
offers 18 military specialty plates, all but two of which require
documentation to verify status.
A Kane County judge’s attempt to acquire Medal of Honor license plates
in 1992 eventually cost him his job. He had claimed to be a two-time
winner of the nation’s highest award for valor – only 19 soldiers in
U.S. history ever received the medal twice, and the government stopped the
practice after World War I.
In 2005, White’s office rescinded the Silver Star license plates – the
first ones ever issued – of a longtime Springfield political adviser
after a weekly newspaper revealed his discharge papers did not list the
award.
A new federal law also tightens penalties on phony war heroes.
President Bush signed the Stolen Valor Act into law last December, which
makes falsely claiming or wearing military decorations punishable by six
months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The penalties are double for falsely
claiming medals for heroism.
Falsely claiming the Medal of Honor is already a federal crime punishable
by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
A first attempt at a license law in the previous General Assembly passed
the House but died in the Senate Transportation Committee because of
concerns that it conflicted with existing vehicle fraud codes.
What?
The state Senate voted, 55-0, on Wednesday to approve House Bill 362,
which makes fraudulently acquiring military specialty license plates
punishable by a minimum fine of $1,000. The House approved the bill 116-0
last month.
Secretary of State Jesse White asked for such a law in December 2005,
after learning of former Marengo alderman Werner “Jack” Genot, who
acquired such plates with forged discharge papers.
I’ve been embarrassed by the Air Force before but, until this little
story broke, never ashamed. I’ve been embarrassed by enlisted troops
on their first tour that wear three rows of ribbons. I’m embarrassed
by officers who wear a flight suit, sit behind a Predator console and
put themselves in for Air Medals. I’m embarrassed by a bloated
bureaucracy that would rather wear blues and work from eight to four
thirty every day than serve in combat. Most of all, I’ve been
embarrassed by the Air Force’s notion that combat can be fought from
forty thousand feet or from an air conditioned van in the Nevada desert.
But I knew there were others. Men and, yes, even a few women, who would
strap on a jet and bring it to the enemy. Even if that meant breaking
the ‘rules’ and going in at 100 feet and 500 knots to get the job
done with a cannon because all the smart weapons weren’t actually that
smart. I knew that there were unarmed tanker crews who would fly into
surface to air missile rings to bring me gas because I wouldn’t make
it out otherwise. I knew that there was a long, sweaty unheralded line
of dedicated logisticians, crew chiefs and maintenance folks that always
made it possible for me to do my job.
This was my Air Force.
Not the bozos who dry cleaned their BDU’s, shined
their boots and conducted sock checks. My Air Force was the Dirty Shirt
Air Force. They smelled of hot metal, oil and body odor. But they are
the tiny minority that permits the rest to exist.
I’ve even been ashamed of people I’ve served with. Men
who fake injury like Maury Forsythe and Tim Collins so they can wear
that little Purple Heart ribbon on their narrow chests.Chameleon
cowards like Jimmy Clarke who sell out brother officers to curry favor
with generals. The list is long and, unfortunately, not
only confined to me. Every tactical officer I know has their own Hall of
Shame.
These things are to be expected in any large
organization. Especially a Paper Tiger like the modern Air Force. But
this last episode is so shameful, so crushingly abhorrent that it must
be exposed. And it must be stopped.
Outsourcing the human remains of American fighting soldiers?
Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is what you do with trash collection and
grounds maintenance. You do not put a price on the bodies of our
fighting soldiers. If you have one shred of decency, one tiny glimmer of
the respect due to the dead you do not do this. If you do then you are
without a soul.
I am appalled and deeply ashamed.
Deeply ashamed that I belonged to such a service for
twenty years. I fought in both Gulf Wars and always believed that if
I’d been killed my service would have at least done me the honor due
someone who has given the ultimate sacrifice.
It never occurred to me that my remains would be
‘outsourced’. That my military would think so little of me that they
would mail my body bag home in Third Class mail courtesy of the lowest
bidder. It never occurred to me that my country would permit it.
Until now.
Who thinks this up? Who is the empty hearted, penny
pinching money grubber who proposes something this shameful? More to the
point, who puts it into a nauseating, standard Air Force PowerPoint
presentation and which perfumed, pampered general officer signs off on
it? A coffee sipping, desk bound Pretender who can only think of another
star to match his expanding waistline? Or simply a faceless, non
thinking drone stealing oxygen at the Pentagon.
Contemptible.
Who are they? I don’t know yet. But I will make a
promise...I’m going to find out.
In the meantime I urge all of you to contact your
congressional representatives and let them know how utterly offensive
this course of action is. And we, as Americans, regardless of the myriad
differences, opinions and politics that divide us, can not allow this
deplorable course of action to proceed. They were our sons and our
daughters; our brothers and our sisters. Our comrades.
Surely they deserve better than this so let’s make sure they get it.
The grass looks calm, no sign of danger. All is well.
But, before you realize it, before you can react or
defend yourself the fangs sink into your back and you’re bitten. A
coward, the snake slinks back into its hiding place and disappears. But
it’s too late for you...the poison is already at work.
A snake in the grass. Much worse than one lying in the
middle of the road. At least you can see the one in the road. You know
it’s a snake. You can see the snake. You can run the snake over and
crush it back to the stone age.
But a snake in the grass is different. It can’t be
seen and you don’t know what it’s doing. Worse still, you probably
don’t even know it’s a snake. You don’t even know you’re a
target.
Until it slithers out into the light long enough to bite
you.
Unfortunately the Air Force is chock full of such snakes. Officers who
believe the end, meaning their ‘success’, justifies whatever means
are required to get them there. They pay lip service to the old dead
code of honor but they could really care less. They would change their
colors to suit whatever situation, whatever boss and, worst of all,
whatever politics dominate the moment. They’re the ones who thought up
the much abused platitudes of Service Before Self, Integrity First and
Excellence In All We Do. Platitudes that are plastered on every wall of
every building in the Air Force. But they’re just words. Some of us
can remember an Air Force that had no use for inane verbalization
because we knew what we were all about. It was, in many ways, a better
Air Force. Certainly one with fewer snakes.
The commander of the 20 Fighter Wing looks and acts like such a great
guy. Full of smiles and good cheer...back slapping and a self
depreciating little chuckle that initially wins most people over. He’s
practiced it for years. Just another simple ‘ol country boy doing the
best he can.
Right.
Here are a few little known facts about Bill Hyatt.
He wears a gray Fighter Weapons School patch on his left shoulder. Bill
Hyatt washed out of the program back in his days as a not so bright
captain. That’s correct...he washed out.
Okay, it can happen. It was a tough school back in the
days before it morphed into the androgynous, watered down, politically
correct version that lumbers along now. However, for some reason, Hyatt,
or ‘Turd’, as he used to be called, got another chance.
Another chance!
How does that work? A Fighter Weapons School slot used
to be the most coveted assignment for a fighter pilot. It was the
toughest of any Air Force program, bar none. It certainly was ‘old
school’ back when Hyatt attended and failed miserably. And if you
screwed the pooch you were done. You got sent back to your unit in
silent shame with your tail between your legs. No one got a second
chance at something most guys never got one chance for. So much for
Excellence In All We Do.
But Turd got another shot at it. Hmmm...how did that
work? What more qualified guy did he bump out of the way when his
sponsor pulled the requisite strings for him to be readmitted?
So life goes on. A little later in his career, after a staff tour, he
was stationed at Shaw AFB in South Carolina. He briefly worked under the
‘command’ of one of the worst officers the Air Force has ever
spawned. Tim Collins…also called the Alphabet Man because
it was forbidden among company grade officers to mention his name. He
was that despised. But rather than deal with it and actually take care
of his boys, Hyatt got himself transferred away from T.C. Collins to
another squadron and became the Operations Officer.
Khobar Towers blew up in June of 1996. The 79th Fighter
Squadron, under the heinous direction of Tim Collins, was
deployed there at the time. Following the blast, Collins and his
Operations Officer both agreed to fall down on a knee and write
themselves up for Purple Hearts. They never had a scratch. In fact,
Collins himself was seen sprinting across the compound away from the
rubble. The rank and file captains, the line mission commander and
instructor pilot types, couldn’t stomach this. When they returned to
Shaw, several of them went to the one guy they thought they could trust.
Turd Hyatt.
They told him the story. They asked him for help. What
should they do and who should tell about this cowardly, incompetent pair
and their disgrace to the uniform? Hyatt knew that Collins and his Ops
O, another sack of douche named Maury Forsyth (now a general) had no
substantiating medical records and, in fact, not a scar on their pasty
pudgy bodies. And what did Bill Hyatt do about it?
Nada. Zilch.
He did what he does best. Act concerned, nod and
‘work’ on it. And, for fear of the own implications to his career he
did absolutely nothing.
You see, Tim Collins had a sponsor too. And his general
officer was apparently bigger than Hyatt’s general officer. Hyatt was
afraid to rock the boat. He had his future to think about after all and
this was no time to live up to an officer’s oath or any type of honor
code. Entirely too much was at stake to risk doing the right thing.
So much for Integrity.
The real damage to that disgusting incident was the
damage done to the company grade officers involved. Men who believed, up
to that point, that honor was honor. Men who believed that we, as combat
officers, did live by a different code than the ‘others’. Three of
those men resigned their commissions and left the Air Force entirely.
Four others eventually threw up their hands and transferred to the Air
National Guard. The few that stayed were forever scarred by the Air
Forces failure to clean up its own act and by Bill Hyatt’s cowardice
in the face of careerism.
So much for Service Before Self.
Bill Hyatt, of course, continued on unscathed.
Maintaining the status quo and not rocking the boat. He flitted about
from obligatory flying jobs and mandatory staff tours and, eventually,
wound up again crouched at his master’s feet in the Pentagon. And
which shiny black shoes was he licking? Fellow Aggie and consummate
Polyester Pretender...T. Michael Moseley.
What a surprise.
What a surprise that careerism, superficial honor and
ethics of convenience should breed. And this is the real point. T.
Michael Moseley’s beget Bill Hyatt’s and Bill Hyatt’s beget others
who beget others who....you get the drift. And the ugly, spreading
cancer that has probably gone too far for anything but a major,
protracted war to stop. Wars, real wars, have a way of winnowing out the
weak, stupid and useless. Moseley and his cronies would be gone in a
flash because, when the chips are truly down, they cannot produce combat
results.
So if the Turd Hyatts were gone and the men and women in
these positions were truly the best we have then the situation would be
different.
But most of these people are decidedly not the best we
have. There are exceptions but Turd Hyatt isn’t one of them. And the
real damage they do, the incalculable damage they do, is twofold. First,
they disillusion competent, dedicated officers who should be the future
Air Force’s greatest asset. These men and women resign, leave at 20
years or transfer away in disgust. Forever changed.
Second, they people bring along others like themselves.
They sponsor others who become Sons of the Pretenders. Politicians and
sycophants that are killing the service. These in turn, bring along
others and it never ends. A giant self licking ice cream cone.
Some of these officers are visible pricks and we’ll get to them
eventually. They’re the easy ones. At least they can be spotted and
you know where they’re coming from. Bill Hyatt, and those like him,
are the real danger. Hyatt will laugh with you, drink with you, play
crud with you and even act like he’s looking out for you. He can make
you believe he’s one of you.
But he is definitely not. He looks out for Bill Hyatt
and he covers T. Michael’s wide, soft butt because without Moseley,
Hyatt has no top cover. He’d have to stand alone and wouldn’t that
be a shock?
So be warned of the snake in the grass.
Bill Hyatt is a Pretender’s Son on his way up. And you
are his ladder.
Gov. Blagojevich reminds public about new laws that takes
effect January 1st New laws will protect seniors and homeowners, strengthen monitoring of
sex offenders, help children and benefit hardworking citizens all around
the state
SPRINGFIELD – As the new year approaches, Governor Rod R.
Blagojevich today promoted a number of important new laws that
he signed earlier this year and will take effect January 1,
2007.
“2006 was a very productive year for state government. We
worked hard to pass new laws to help our seniors, children, and
the hardworking citizens of our state. A number of those new
laws will go into effect on Monday, so now is the time for the
public to learn about new protections and programs we
enacted,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
• House Bill 4121 punishes individuals who falsely claim to be
decorated war heroes. The new law creates criminal charges and
imposes penalties on individuals falsely representing themselves
as recipients of various military honors.
Full text:
09400HB4121sam001
LRB094 14139 RLC 57150 a
1AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4121
2AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4121 on page 1, by
3 replacing lines 25 through 28 with the following:
4 "(a-6) A person commits a false personation when he or
she
5 falsely represents himself or herself to be a recipient of, or
6 wears on his or her person, any of the following medals if
that
7 medal was not awarded to that person by the United States
8 government, irrespective of branch of service: the
9 Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross,
10 the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, the Silver Star, the
11 Bronze Star, or the Purple Heart.
12 It is a defense to a prosecution under this subsection
13 (a-6) that the medal is used, or is intended to be used,
14 exclusively:
15 (1) for a dramatic presentation, such as a theatrical,
16 film, or television production, or a historical
17 re-enactment; or
18 (2) for a costume worn, or intended to be worn, by a
19 person under 18 years of age.".
Man ordered to wear sandwich board for lying to probation
officer about being a Marine
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A man who lied to his
probation officer about having served in the military was
ordered to stand outside the courthouse wearing a sandwich board
that says: "I am a liar. I am not a Marine."
William C. Horvath, 35, of Whitefish, pleaded
guilty to making false statements, a felony.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy sentenced him
Thursday to four months of house arrest and four years of
probation. He also ordered him to stand outside the courthouse
for 50 hours wearing the sandwich board with the message.
On the back, it must read: "I have never
served my country. I have dishonored veterans of all wars."
Molloy, a veteran himself, also ordered Horvath
to write letters of apology to newspapers, the U.S. Marine
Corps, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in
Kalispell. The judge said Horvath must admit in the letters that
he lied repeatedly about serving and being wounded.
According to a news release from the U.S.
attorney's office, Horvath claimed during an interview with a
probation officer on Aug. 9, 2001, that he had served in the
Marine Corps. The officer was gathering information on Horvath
on a prior charge of being a fugitive in possession of firearms
or ammunition.
The probation officer then attempted to verify
Horvath's military service, but was told by the Marine Corps
that there was no record of Horvath ever having served.
Horvath then presented the probation officer
with evidence of his time in the military, including photographs
and decorations. However, Marine Corps representatives told the
probation officer that the evidence contained a variety of
inconsistencies.
One of the problems: He was wearing his uniform
improperly.
July
7, 2006
Posted on Tue, May. 09, 2006
Alleged swindle unravels at Fort Snelling cemetery
Worker accused of faking Naval Reserve service to get paid leave
BY DAVID HAWLEY
Pioneer Press
For more than three years, officials at
Fort Snelling National Cemetery understood when Adrian Crump requested
paid leave to serve as a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve.
He worked, after all, at a place dedicated to honor those who had served
their country.
So it came as a shock when officials learned that Crump's record of active
military duty was more than a little exaggerated. In fact, Hennepin County
prosecutors said, it was fabricated.
Crump, 36, of Apple Valley, was charged Monday with five counts of theft
by swindle for receiving more than $7,000 in military leave pay and
benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which is in charge
of the cemetery where he was employed.
Attempts to reach Crump at his home were unsuccessful.
According to a complaint filed in Hennepin County, the thefts began
several months after the war in Iraq started in 2003 and continued through
January 2005. Crump claimed to be a naval officer shortly after going to
work at the cemetery in 2002, the complaint said.
"He would take time off four days or a week at a time and come
back claiming he had finished his official duties," said Hennepin
County Attorney Amy Klobuchar.
"What's so disturbing about this case is that he not only ripped off
taxpayers and the government, but he did something that was an insult to
people in uniform. While they are serving our country, he came up with a
scheme to get benefits he didn't deserve."
Crump served in the Navy, but he was discharged from active duty in 2001,
said Lynn Masoney, an investigator with the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service. Crump worked as an aviation machinist and reached an enlisted
rank equivalent to a private first class in the Army.
But when he started work at the cemetery, Crump gave himself a big
promotion to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, Klobuchar said.
The complaint says Crump forged documents that looked like military orders
when he took time off with pay. As a result, the Veterans Administration
gave Crump $6,695 in cash and military leave pay, plus $891 in health
insurance premiums.
It is unclear how the scheme was discovered, though the lead investigation
was done by the VA's office of inspector general. Randy Rupp, a regional
investigator in Denver, declined to comment.
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force also worked on the case. The
head of the task force, Cmdr. Chris Abbas, said it might be the first
fraud case of its kind in this area.
"It's amazing he was able to get away with it as long as he
did," Abbas said. "He must have had some idea of what official
military orders look like when he made the forgeries."
Don Emond, assistant director at the cemetery, also declined to comment,
though he said Crump is no longer an employee.
Each of the five counts of theft by swindle detailed a specific month when
Crump allegedly received pay for military leave, starting in October 2003
and ending in January 2005.
Klobuchar said Crump was charged in a summons and was not arrested. A date
for a first court appearance has not been set. "But we will pursue
jail time in this case," she said.
Military honors are easy to fake
Both medals and uniforms readily available for sale
Thursday, May 25, 2006
By DAVE HANEY OF THE JOURNAL STAR
PEORIA - For a few hundred bucks or less, you too
can be outfitted in authentic military dress blues and a rack full of
shiny medals to boot.
Order them by Internet, over the phone or drop by the
local pawn shop or military surplus.
"Most of the time, what we see is a vet trying to
replace an original they lost, or a collector" looking for a nice
find, says Dave Barth, owner of Pekin Gun and Sporting Goods. "We
could order all new medals, but they're just not in that high of
demand."
Barth said most of the medals they come across and turn
around and sell are from auctions or estate sales. On Wednesday, the
military surplus shop had a handful of dusty medals lining the bottom of a
display case, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses and a World War
II Marine Corps good conduct medal. Prices range from $20 to $50.....
Dunlap man's medals questioned
No military service records can be found for him
By DAVE HANEY OF THE JOURNAL STAR
DUNLAP - With only five other men in U.S. history
being awarded the Purple Heart eight times over, Theodore C. Bantis of
Dunlap would be the only Marine known to have earned such distinction.
He would be one of only 362 Marines to receive the rare
and coveted Navy Cross during what he lists as three full combat tours in
Vietnam before retiring after 30 years as a colonel.
Impressive and honorable as it may appear, the medals and
the rank Bantis claims all appear to be lies. He never spent a day as a
Marine in his life.
"It really denigrates the whole idea for the
awards," said Tom Maher, a local Marine who served in Vietnam around
the same time Bantis claims.
Maher said he first approached Bantis about three years
ago during a Memorial Day event in Peoria.
"I told him, 'You do realize you're wearing your
awards incorrectly?' He just turned and walked away," Maher said
Monday. "I never could find out if he was telling the truth or
not."
Others also now wonder.....
May
24, 2006
Man sentenced to 6 months for posing as member of
armed services
May 23, 2006
CONCORD, N.H. --He posed as a U.S.
Navy recruiter, wearing the uniform and medals and taking part in a
Veteran's Day ceremony.
Now, Matthew Phillips of Springfield, Vt., has been
sentenced to six months probation for wearing the uniform without
authorization.
Phillips, 31, pleaded guilty in February,
acknowledging that in December 2004, he entered the U.S. Naval
Recruiting Station in Keene, wearing a Navy lieutenant's uniform
that had a Navy Seal badge. He portrayed himself as an enlisted
recruiter.
Last year, Phillips wore the same uniform,
accompanied by Naval recruiters to a high school in Bellows Falls,
Vt. He also acknowledged he wore the uniform on Veterans Day in
2004, in Claremont, where he played a major role in a public
ceremony and was photographed.
May 20, 2006 Section: News Edition: Main; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Page: A1
FakeMarine wove a web of lies
The Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, is worn by
distinguished military heroes. Richard Thibodeau claimed he was in their
ranks. STEVE VISSER
Marine Corps veteran Stephen Walker was honored to meet
Richard Thibodeau, especially when he read about the heroism that earned
his fellow Gwinnett Marine the Navy Cross in Vietnam.
"When I got his biography, I took it over to my dad's house, I was
that impressed," said Walker, a Gulf War veteran. "I thought
'How can I be in the same room with this guy?' It made me feel
small."
The Navy Cross brought Thibodeau, 64, a seat of honor at the Marine Corps
League's Georgia banquet May 13 at the American Legion Post 251 in Duluth.
The Navy Cross citation, outlining acts of uncommon valor, hung in the
Gwinnett County Veterans Memorial Museum in Lawrenceville. Thibodeau
claimed in the paperwork he supplied the museum to have retired as a
sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank in the Marines.
But the citation, the medal and the rank all were lies.
Thibodeau now admits he never served in Vietnam, never earned the Navy
Cross, never saw combat. He never was a Marine.
The Lawrenceville resident, a medical technologist, is one of the latest
of a growing number of military frauds....
=====================
Mr.
Visser, an Atlanta Journal Reporter, talked
today to Mr. Thibodeau and has an appointment
to meet with him tomorrow. Mr. Thibodeau cites
this incident all as a prank gone awry, admitting to the reporter he faked
the Navy Cross. He further told Mr. Visser
that he DID indeed serve in Vietnam in 1964-65. Mr. Visser
so advised me in a phone call about 4:30 P.M.
About
5 PM Mr Thibodeau called me, wanting my email
address in order to send me a copy of the Apology listed below. He did an
excellent job of playing on my sympathy, explaining again that this was
all a joke gone awry. I asked him about his service in Vietnam. He told me
he did serve in Vietnam in 1964-65. I questioned his DD-214 showing he got
out in 1963, and he advised that he re-enlisted but had proffered an
earlier DD-214 since it would not make a subsequent Navy Cross earned in
1968 look suspicious for lack of being on it, and that he no longer had a
copy of a DD-214 showing subsequent service.
About
the time he had me feeling sorry for him, and a
little guilty about going after him so hard, I asked him again if indeed
he served in Vietnam. He said yes, whereupon I told him:
“Mr.
Thibodeau, you need to be absolutely honest
with me. We are getting your records from NPRC, and if we catch you in
another lie, you are toast. So I’ll ask you one more time, did you serve
in Vietnam?”
He
said “No.”
Upshot
of this is, when caught and given the opportunity to come completely clean
earlier in his conversations with me, the reporter, and others, he
continued to lie about his service. (And this is all without consideration
of a phony citation for retirement as a Sergeant Major). The man deserves
whatever he gets.
People who falsely claim to be decorated war heroes can now be
prosecuted under a new law signed by Gov. Blagojevich on Thursday.
Under the law, violators can be charged with false impersonation, a petty
criminal offense punishable with a fine of up to $200.
Sponsored by Rep. Daniel Burke and Sen. Martin Sandoval, both Chicago
Democrats, the law makes it illegal for a person to portray himself as a
recipient of prestigious military medals issued by the federal government.
Those include: the Purple Heart, Congressional Medal of Honor,
Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star and
the Bronze Star.
"Our war heroes deserve our admiration, respect and gratitude,"
Blagojevich said. "One way to make sure we always recognize their
sacrifice and courage is to make sure that others aren't allowed to get
away with lying about having won military medals."
The legislation is in response to a number of high-profile cases across
the country in which people have lied about their military
accomplishments. In 1995, an Illinois judge, who later resigned his post,
lied about receiving two Congressional Medal of Honor Awards but could not
be prosecuted because he was never seen wearing the medals.
THE FBI investigates cases of impostors who wear fake
Medals of Honor, which is a federal crime.
Recipients of the Medal of Honor are true heroes. The fact
that Pueblo until recently had four living Medal of Honor recipients
caused this community to be declared the Home of Heroes.
While the wearing of bogus Medals of Honor is a crime,
it’s not a crime to wear some of the other top awards for valor in
combat. Last year, Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., introduced legislation in
the U.S. House to include those medals, and now Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.,
is co-sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate.
That bill would crack down on individuals who wear,
manufacture or sell military decorations or medals without legal
authorization. It also would prohibit anyone from falsely representing
himself or herself as having been awarded any medal authorized by
Congress.
According to Sen. Allard’s staff, the bill would provide
penalties for violations if the offense involves a Distinguished Service
Cross, an Air Force Cross, a Navy Cross, a Silver Star or a Purple Heart.
This legislation also would expand the law to include those who publicly
claim to be recipients of those awards, allowing the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to prosecute these cases.
True heroism is something to be respected. Falsely
claiming to have been awarded a decoration for valor only diminishes that
respect and should be punished.
ELYRIA -- Two men were arrested for posing
as veterans and collecting money with a bogus ''Support Our Troops''
campaign at Wal-Mart Thursday evening.
Joseph J. Sigmund Jr., 41, and William C. Rogers, 47, both of Akron, were
arrested and charged with theft by deception and possession of criminal
tools, according to police.
Lt. Andy Eichenlaub said police confiscated $659 from the two men at
Wal-Mart. Several large blue buckets sat on a lawn chair next to Sigmund
to collect the donations.
He was missing part of his left arm just below his elbow so police said it
appeared he was a combat veteran from the Vietnam War. At Wal-Mart, he had
a sign that read, ''United Veteran Fund Donations,'' according to police
When police asked him what unit he was with during his service, Sigmund
admitted he was not a military veteran. He was wearing a T-shirt with a
United States flag on it, olive green pants and a blue baseball hat with a
''United Veteran Association'' emblem.
He also reportedly had a license for an organization called the United
Veteran Association, but police said it looked like it was photocopied.
The license had a phone number but the number was no longer working when
police tried to call it, according to reports. Sigmund told police he made
contact with the number two days ago.
Sigmund also claimed the organization had a Web site. Police could not
find a Web address with that name. Police dispatchers also called several
veterans groups but they all said no one was out collecting donations
yesterday.
Sigmund told police he had booked an appointment with Wal-Mart to collect
donations yesterday. Police found Rogers around the corner collecting
money from where Sigmund was set up.
A child, who police said was 10 years old or younger, showed police where
Rogers was collecting donations. The boy told police he gave money to
Rogers. A 46-year-old woman from North Ridgeville also told police she
contributed money to Rogers.
Sigmund told police in a taped interview the whole operation with Rogers
started last year. Sigmund said he was homeless and unemployed last July
at a Giant Eagle parking lot with a ''will work for food'' sign. He said
last year Rogers approached him and offered to pay him $6 an hour to ask
for donations for veterans organizations.
He told police at the time he thought he would be working for a legitimate
veterans group. Last November, Rogers told Sigmund they would no longer be
able to work because the United Veteran Organization was being
investigated, according to police. In July, Rogers called Sigmund and
asked if he would like to do the same collection operation and they would
split the proceeds in half, according to police.
Rogers said he would be in charge of booking the organization at the
stores in the northern Ohio area and Sigmund would collect donations,
police said. Sigmund told police he would spend between six and 10 hours
collecting money at each location. He reportedly said they made between
$200 and $600 at each store. He admitted to police yesterday that he did
not give any money to a charitable organization.
This year, the first collection operation was on July 3 at Hawkins Grocery
store in Medina, Sigmund told police. Rogers and Sigmund conducted similar
operations at stores in Medina, Akron, Fremont and Ashland, according to
police. Most of the locations they collected donations at were Wal-Mart
stores, Sigmund said.
Eichenlaub said Elyria police will call police departments in those cities
to tell them what they found in Elyria.
''We'll notify them what we have here,'' he said. ''It will be up to them
to investigate.''
Eichenlaub said any theft of more than $500 results in a felony charge.
Both officers who arrested the men have served in the military.
''I wouldn't even begin to know where to comment,'' said Officer Rick
Piscione, a former commander of the AMVETS Post 32 in Elyria. ''I really
have a problem with someone who tries to walk in the shoes of a real
veteran who has never served in combat.''
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/13592621.htm
Posted on Tue, Jan. 10, 2006 Man seeking veterans benefits used dead sailor's name
A Hutchinson man has admitted that he tried to use a false identity
to qualify for veterans health benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney's
Office in Wichita.
Karl E. Valentine, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of
making a false statement in a federal matter during a hearing before U.S.
District Judge Carlos Murguia in Kansas City, Kan.
Valentine used the name and Social Security number of a
Navy veteran when he applied for health benefits from the Veterans
Administration, said United States Attorney Eric Melgren. Valentine said
he knew when he filled out the paperwork that the man whose name he was
using was deceased.
Valentine faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal
prison and a fine up to $250,000. His sentencing is set for April 17.
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