Eric Gene Piotrowski

Claims that he was requesting military records and the certificate and silver star and letter of explanation were found in his file and mailed without explanation. [It is a possibility that he purchased the certificate through citationexpress.com.]

Mr. Piotrowski is a COP in Sacramento. According to HQ USMC, this Silver Star (Presented by the CA VA Undersecretary) was BOGUS!!! http://www.cdva.ca.gov/news/nfv121207.pdf  ....

HQ USMC:
We reviewed all records and found no evidence that Piotrowski was never awarded the Silver Star Medal.

ACTUAL RECORDS - where is his combat?

Please see the following link.

http://www.egcitizen.com/articles/2009/05/04/news/doc49fa25015dda5271559245.txt

I find it disgusting that Eric Piotrowski is pictured singing the national anthem in full dress police uniform when it is known that he is a "phony"   

It is disgraceful that he would appear in full dress police uniform and sing the anthem when he has no regard for the true heroes.

May 10, 2009

The video of this case is well worth watching. http://cbs13.com/local/Local.Man.Pretends.2.1005252.html  

May 26, 2009  Stolen Valor Act
Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times
Marine Corps Times (subscription) - USA
... which arrested and charged him May 8 with one misdemeanor count of violating the Stolen Valor Act and one felony count of lying to agents investigating ...

United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown

Eastern District of California

______________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     CONTACT: LAUREN HORWOOD

Tuesday, September 15, 2009                                       PHONE: (916) 554-2706

www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae                                                                                   usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov

Docket #: 2:09-cr-0232-GEB; 2:09-cr-395-LKK

STOLEN VALOR: ONE MAN PLEADS GUILTY, ANOTHER CHARGED, FOR BOGUS CLAIMS CONCERNING SILVER STAR MILITARY MEDALS

SACRAMENTO , Calif.— Uniited States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that ERIC GENE PIOTROWSKI, 41, of Elk Grove, pleaded guilty this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows to falsely claiming that he was awarded a Silver Star military decoration during Operation Desert Storm. On Thursday, September 10, 2009, a second man, KENNETH JEROME NELSON, 60, of Sacramento, was charged in a two-count indictment with unauthorized exhibition of military decorations and medals, including a Silver Star, and making a false statement to the FBI concerning his supposed service in Vietnam and his receipt of various medals.

Under the Stolen Valor Act, which was enacted in late 2006, it is a misdemeanor offense to wear military medals that were not in fact awarded, or to falsely claim to have been awarded such medals. The Silver Star is the third highest decoration awarded by the U.S. Military. The PIOTROWSKI case was investigated by the FBI and the California Department of Veterans Affairs. The NELSON case was investigated by the FBI.

U.S. Attorney Brown said, "False claims about military heroism demean the record of the real heroes who have valiantly served this nation in the armed services. Those who seek public attention and admiration by misappropriating the mantle of veterans who have served with distinction deserve prosecution."  

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez, who is prosecuting the PIOTROWSKI case, PIOTROWSKI claimed that he was awarded a Silver Star for "gallantry in action during combat operations against hostile forces" in Operation Desert Storm. Specifically, PIOTROWSKI falsely claimed that in 1991 during an Iraqi counterattack, he "exposed himself to direct enemy fire while providing suppressive fires to cover an antitank team, which was maneuvering to destroy an Iraqi T-62 tank." In fact, as he admitted in his plea of guilty, PIOTROWSKI did not see military action in Operation Desert Storm; he purchased the Silver Star Citation and medal via the Internet. Under false pretenses, PIOTROWSKI was formally recognized for the Silver Star by the Undersecretary for the California Department of Veterans Affairs in a ceremony in December 2007. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for November 30, 2009 before Judge Hollows.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Camil A. Skipper, who is prosecuting the NELSON case, the indictment alleges that NELSON wore a Silver Star that had not been awarded to him. The indictment also alleges that NELSON, during an investigation by the FBI, falsely claimed to have earned three Purple Hearts in Vietnam. According to the indictment, NELSON falsely stated that he had earned his third Purple Heart after he stepped on a spike and received an ankle wound while carrying an injured fellow soldier on his back for 26 miles. The indictment alleges that NELSON did not serve in any combat role with the U.S. Military in Vietnam or elsewhere and that he did not receive any decorations or medals. NELSON, who is known by many as an unofficial caretaker of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial, has been featured in local television and newspaper stories in which he was described as a former Marine who served in Vietnam for three years and received medals for valor. The charges against NELSON are only allegations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

In another case prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act, MICHAEL ALLAN FRASER, 63, of Oroville, pleaded guilty in May 2008 to violating the Stolen Valor Act, and was sentenced to serve 100 hours of community service and a fine of $500. FRASER had given an interview to the Oroville Mercury Register in which he falsely claimed to have been awarded two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars for heroism in Vietnam. He had traveled to Vietnam with real Vietnam veterans, who believed he was helping them to "bury the ghosts" of the past. In fact, FRASER never served in Vietnam or received such medals.

# # # #

Former corporal admits faking Silver Star

A former Marine corporal and police officer who faked earning a Silver Star during the Gulf War pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating the Stolen Valor Act, U.S. authorities said.

Eric Piotrowski, of Elk Grove, Calif., faces sentencing Nov. 30, authorities said. Under a plea agreement, a felony count of lying to FBI agents investigating the case can be dropped in exchange for him agreeing to serve at least 200 hours of community service in a veterans hospital, said U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez.

“I thought it was fitting that he minister to and care for true war heroes,” Rodriguez said. “It seemed like poetic justice.”

Piotrowski, 41, was arrested by the FBI on May 8. He was honored by the California Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007, with California VA Undersecretary Roger Brautigan presenting him with a Silver Star that Piotrowski said he had earned for actions 16 years earlier during Operation Desert Storm.

Authorities said the medal was never earned and that a citation read by Brautigan — a retired two-star Army general — during an award ceremony was fraudulent. It said Piotrowski earned the medal for actions in February 2007, when he supposedly put himself in harm’s way to allow “breaching units” to move forward, provided suppressive fire to cover an anti-tank team, and guided separated elements of his unit through enemy forces after an assault on Iraqi defenses near Kuwait International Airport.

The citation was wrought with details inconsistent with history and Piotrowski’s own DD Form 214, a document that describes a service member’s assignments and awards upon military separation.

Piotrowski’s service record shows he did not serve in 1st Force Recon and did not earn either version of the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal. The medals were awarded by the Saudi Arabian government to any service member with direct participation in Desert Storm and by the Kuwaiti government for participation in either Desert Storm or Desert Shield.

Piotrowski served from November 1986 to July 1991, according to his Military Report of Separation. His records show that he spent most of his career as a rifleman with infantry units at Camp Pendleton, Calif., but did not see combat.

Marine Corps Times began investigating the case in December, before FBI agents charged Piotrowski. In a Dec. 3 phone interview, he expressed surprise when his citation was questioned, saying he was first notified he rated the Silver Star in 2007 after he sought his military medical records. That prompted an audit of his service record, he said, adding that he later received the citation from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

Pressed on the details of his purported actions in Kuwait, Piotrowski said he remembered the event, “but I don’t recall the specifics of it.”

“I remember being on a Humvee and providing fire support,” he said. “We were out there trying to provide fire support so that we could move the mission forward. That was it.”

READ MORE: Previous story

http://www.vancouverite.com/2009/09/16/desert-storms-fake-hero-faces-legal-tornado/
Desert Storm’s fake hero faces legal tornado

SACRAMENTO, CA— Pretending to be a military hero during Desert Storm has landed a California man in conflict with the law.

 Eric Gene Piotrowski, 41, of Elk Grove, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S.  Judge Gregory G. Hollows to falsely claiming that he was awarded a Silver Star military decoration during Operation Desert Storm.

On Thursday, September 10, 2009, a second man, Keneth  Nelson, 60, of Sacramento, was charged in a two-count indictment with unauthorized exhibition of military decorations and medals, including a Silver Star, and making a false statement to the FBI concerning his supposed service in Vietnam and his receipt of various medals.

Under the Stolen Valor Act, which was enacted in late 2006, it is a misdemeanor offense to wear military medals that were not in fact awarded, or to falsely claim to have been awarded such medals.

The Silver Star is the third highest decoration awarded by the U.S. Military. The Piotrowski case was investigated by the FBI and the California Department of Veterans Affairs. The Nelson case was investigated by the FBI.

U.S. Attorney Brown said, “False claims about military heroism demean the record of the real heroes who have valiantly served this nation in the armed services. Those who seek public attention and admiration by misappropriating the mantle of veterans who have served with distinction deserve prosecution.”

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez, who is prosecuting the Pitorowski case, the fake hero claimed that he was awarded a Silver Star for “gallantry in action during combat operations against hostile forces” in Operation Desert Storm. Specifically, he  falsely claimed that in 1991 during an Iraqi counterattack, he “exposed himself to direct enemy fire while providing suppressive fires to cover an antitank team, which was maneuvering to destroy an Iraqi T-62 tank.”

In fact, as he admitted in his plea of guilty, Piotrowski did not see military action in Operation Desert Storm; he purchased the Silver Star Citation and medal via the Internet.

Under false pretenses, Piotrowski was formally recognized for the Silver Star by the Undersecretary for the California Department of Veterans Affairs in a ceremony in December 2007. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for November 30, 2009 before Judge Hollows.