Phony war hero in court-

They come in handy!! :yes:

There's a much bigger version for Winter Ops.

 

I 'magine there are some that run around your country claiming service with SAS and the Paras.

They're called wannabes here.

 

They do come in handy.

My G'pa had one, as did my Father-in-Law ....

Actually, I got mine when I was 12-13. I did that couple week "Devil Pup" course at Camp Pendleton. Sort of a mix between basic training and summer camp. :lol: We ate a LOT of C-rats there. I still say they are better than MRE's .... I seriously hate MRE's.

 

I've never had an MRE :no:

 

I've got a good non-MRE food story ... I'll get around to telling it here one of these days.

 

Fake GI gets VA bennies

Prosecutors: Faked military records cost VA, tarnished medals

By GENE JOHNSON
AP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

SEATTLE -- Eight people who faked their military service in conflicts dating to World War II have been charged in the Northwest this year, and another four cases are under investigation, federal officials said Friday.

The fraudulent claims not only dishonored those who actually served, but also cost the Veterans Administration and other agencies more than $1.4 million in benefits, said Doug Carver, with the VA's Office of the Inspector General. There are dozens more cases pending across the country, he said.

"The 'phony war hero' phenomenon ... tarnishes the service of thousands of veterans who have served honorably," Carver said. "It strangles VA resources from providing critical care and benefits from deserving veterans."

Carver spoke at a news conference at U.S. District Court following the sentencing of Jesse Macbeth, a 23-year-old Tacoma resident who tried to position himself as a leader of the antiwar movement by claiming to have participated in war crimes in Iraq. In reality, Macbeth, who also sought medical benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder, was kicked out of the Army after six weeks at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2003 because of his "entry level performance and conduct."

Macbeth, who pleaded guilty, collected more than $10,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled, and his claims of war crimes were quickly disseminated on the Internet. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik sentenced him to five months in prison, followed by three months in a halfway house. At his sentencing Macbeth apologized for defaming veterans, while Lasnik noted that "too many people with a political agenda grabbed Mr. Macbeth's story and ran with it, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said he served in Vietnam, and that his father, a B-24 pilot, was shot down and killed while bombing a Hanoi cement plant a week before Sullivan was born in 1943. He said he took the cases of these "phonies, liars and thieves" personally, and added that he hoped publicity about the cases would discourage others from doing it.

Besides Macbeth, the cases include:

-Reggie Buddle, 60, of Puyallup, who was sentenced to 500 hours of community service in July for posing as a decorated Marine Corps Chaplin and presiding over weddings, funerals and baptisms.

-Larry Lewis Porter, 52, of Seattle, who was sentenced to 37 months in April for mail fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain $134,000 in disability benefits. He pretended to have PTSD after serving in the Navy.

-Roy J. Scott, 71, of Port Angeles, pleaded guilty Aug. 31 to using a forged military discharge form to obtain $22,000 in benefits, as well as unlawful wearing of military medals. He claimed to have been wounded in combat in Korea and to have won several medals, including the Purple Heart. He never served in Korea and was court-martialed out of the Marines.

-Merrick K. Hersey, 64, of Vancouver, was indicted Aug. 1 on charges of using a forged discharge certificate to apply for benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder. A fugitive, Hersey cleaimed to have won a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in Vietnam.

-Michael D. Heit, 58, of Harrington, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Spokane to using a forged discharge certificate and falsely claiming military medals in posing as a Vietnam vet.

-Elvin J. Swisher, 70, of Idaho, has been charged with taking $95,000 in unearned benefits and falsely posing as a veteran of the Korean War.

-Carlos Riosvalle, 83, of Portland, Ore., was sentenced in Multnomah County in April for multiple counts of theft by deception. He collected nearly $23,000 in benefits after claiming to have been shot down during World War II; in fact, he never served.

 

Et tu, Atlantic City Mayor??

From MY Massachusetts Brother, Kevin-

Guys,

the Mayor of Atlantic City, Bob Levy, campaigned as a Vietnam veteran and ex-"Green Beret."

Turns out, he was a decorated VN vet, but never in SF. (WTF?) Apparently his CIB is also bogus and there are some indications he was scamming compensation for bogus disabilities from the VA. Looks like he's going the way of all Atlantic City pols, up the river.

For now, he's lawyered up and run off to play the rehab card. Here are some news stories.

As is usual with Democrats who commit crimes in office, the news stories don't say what his party is. Imagine that.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home...__mayor__facing_war_questions__goes_AWOL.html

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic_city/story/7506796p-7404530c.html

This story has a lot of links to related tales:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_story/story/7505408p-7402822c.html


This is the key story -- where he finally admits he was not SF.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7504327p-7401790c.html

A New Jersey vet, James Simmons, was key to outing him. Funny thing is, he threatened the reporter that "legal action would be taken" if he ran the story. Well he ran the story, and legal action has been taken: against Levy. Tom Waskovich is quoted in that story.

He has been claiming SF since at least 1980.

Here's the story on the bogosity of his CIB and the fed investigation. Steve Sherman quoted:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7504118p-7401509c.html

Here's the timeline of how Levy was exposed:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7504123p-7401516c.html

This blog has a loose overview:

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-phony-war-hero-atlantic-city.html


cheers

-=K=-

 

This asssshole should be sentenced soon-

Richard David McClanahan

 

Randall Moneymaker :icon_evil:

 

Frank Thayer :icon_evil:

 

Comments on three recent MS phonies

"It gets better, though. The blogger notes that all were arrested by FBI -AND- special agents of VA. This means that these clowns were probably all trying to scam disability money.

The feds don't do much about simple braggarts, it seems, but they will prosecute braggarts who think they deserve to be paid for their imaginary heroics."

The added comments are from an email I received from a Special Forces friend.

 

Louis Lowell McGuinn :icon_evil:

"His military records showed that McGuinn had indeed been in the US Army and served in Vietnam, but was discharged as a private without being decorated.

In 2006, McGuinn, who is now in his 60s, attended a ball in New York's glitzy Pierre Hotel wearing the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, awarded for being wounded in action.

The Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military decoration of the US Army, is awarded for acts of extraordinary heroism.

A real lieutenant colonel and West Point graduate, Mark Kimey, instantly spotted there was something not quite right about McGuinn and reported him.

"They're always (Navy) SEALs or special forces," Kimey told the New York Daily News last year. "Nobody ever masquerades as a cook." "

 

Xavier Alvarez pleads guilty

 

Alvarez tried Freedom of Speech defense

 

West Texas A& M isn't that were the former no. 2 overall pick in the 1998 draft impersonated a starting QB in the NFL?

now impersonating a college golf coach and sometimes QB coach, sometimes recruiter.

Stan :rivers17:

 

"War stories" have some facing prison