Category: Phony soldiers

You may remember when I first wrote about Michael Delos Hamilton nearly a year ago when he was busted for parlaying his nine month Marine Corps career into an enviable record and $30,000 in VA benefits. A jury convicted him yesterday and we had no idea how often this clown had been getting away with this shit;

In a morning session, the prosecution called six witnesses, including Margaret Miller, Hamilton’s sister, who testified that her brother was living near family on the West Coast during much of the time he claimed to have been involved in secret operations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

She confirmed evidence from personnel records and military witnesses, saying Hamilton’s military career had lasted just over nine months, from the summer of 1961 to the spring of 1962, when he was discharged as a Marine private first class after being involved in a machinery accident that amputated the tips of two of his fingers.

She said she had learned, with surprise and dismay, of Hamilton’s appearance and speech at a Jacksonville Vietnam veterans’ ceremony in the dress regalia of a Marine colonel when Hamilton’s son Earl sent her a link to a Daily News story investigating Hamilton’s claims.

Other witnesses testified that Hamilton had frequented a number of military installations wearing inappropriate military uniforms and decorations before his appearance at the April 2010 event in Jacksonville.

FBI Special Agent Willie Session said he had been called to intervene when Hamilton appeared aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego in 1996, arrayed in the uniform of a brigadier general and attempting to purchase a Marine officer’s dress uniform cover. Session said Hamilton had acknowledged he was not a one-star general when confronted and had promised not to commit the offense again, and was summarily disbarred from the base without being charged.

Marine 2nd Lt. Heath Kinder said he had been an enlisted military police officer in 2000, when he was called to apprehend Hamilton at a recruit graduation ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Kinder said he was summoned to the scene by current Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, then serving at Second Recruit Training Battalion.

Hamilton, he said, was wearing the Marine service Charlie uniform with the insignia of a full colonel.

“I took off running toward the gentleman. I got him to stop,” Kinder said. “I noticed the rank and rendered the proper greeting, which was a salute and greeting of the day … then Sgt. Maj. Kent told me not to do that.”

Again, Kinder said, Hamilton was removed from base with a citation, and not charged.

Staff Sgt. Bobby Sanders said he had responded to reports of suspicious activity to find Hamilton walking through the Camp Lejeune exchange wearing digital camouflage utilities and the stars of a lieutenant general. Following the Camp Lejeune event, Hamilton was charged with counts including larceny of U.S. property, wearing a uniform without authority, and illegally entering military property, but all counts except possessing an altered ID card were dropped in a plea deal by which Hamilton paid $100 in fines and served six months probation.

The government’s final witness, agent Roger Horsely with Lejeune’s Criminal Investigative Division, said he had prompted a full investigation into Hamilton’s behavior after seeing coverage of Hamilton’s appearance at the Jacksonville Vietnam ceremony in The Daily News.

They kept letting the ritard get away with this crap and he doubled down every time. The prosecutor said, “He went up to a vending machine with a slug in his pocket to see if it would pay out.” And it did almost every time. He’s facing 16 years in prison and more than a $half million in fines. He deserves every bit of it.

Thanks to Ed for the link.

A fellow West Virginian is facing wire fraud charges for claiming to be a retiring Major General in a job application to an Ohio construction company (AP link);

An FBI agent alleges in an affidavit that [Randall Keyser of Barboursville, W.Va.] sought a six-figure job with an Ohio construction company in March. It says he told company officials he had supervised construction projects and answered directly to the U.S. secretary of defense but was planning to retire from the military.

It probably didn’t help him get away with his fakery by putting the Army Chief of Staff on his application as a reference.

Just a Grunt sends this link detailing that Keyser has been hired 22 other times with questionable creds;

The jobs included law enforcement or county government positions in several states, including Florida, North Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

He was hired six times as a police chief.

For the Ohio job interview, he showed up in uniform.

The Ninth Circuit and Alex Kozinski, if they had jurisdiction, would probably let him skate because everybody lies on their job applications a little bit. It’s harmless, right, Alex?

Greg sends us a link to a New York Daily News story of a phony vet exercsing his right to free speech by scamming the government;

A Manhattan federal jury said John Anthony Raymond White and his firm, Mitsubishi Construction Corp., bid on contracts the VA awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.

White at times claimed he hurt his back while a Navy ROTC; other times he said he was in Special Forces.

The jury concluded he was always a fraud – and he faces up to 75 years in jail and $3.7 million in fines when sentenced.

He won several contracts, including a $5.7 million job in 2009 to build a flood wall around the Veterans Administration Medical Center on E. 23rd St. in Manhattan.

“Those contracts were supposed to go to real veterans,” prosecutor Virgil Bragg said.

Eventually, the VA got suspicious and discovered White has a rap sheet for forgery and grand larceny.

White ultimately told the VA he was not a vet.

Just got the news about Jasper Lake today. No really surprised about it but there are few things I wanted to respond too.

Betsui and Lake said the issue is a misunderstanding. They insist they were misinformed by the Kirkpatrick aide, who told them Lake had been nominated for the Medal of Honor and suggested asking for donations.

Yea and none of that sounded suspicious? I will ask anyone here who has served that was told that they were receiving something and not get it. I know I have been told I would receive a second ARCOM and CMB. Did it happen, nope.

The Rumor Doctor talked to Lake’s niece, Gailene Betsui, who said an aide to former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., secured the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other awards, which were mailed to Lake. Betsui said all documentation she had from Kirkpatrick’s office had been lost.

Except that what does a single US Congresswoman has anything to do with the approval of these awards? She has no place in the approval process, let alone issuing the medals out. Lake being in the Army should have known this. Because the only time that I ever got a full metal was with the permanent orders. No one gets random medals in the mail, more so when they are the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Or you could go with the simple solution that they bought them at any random buyer. Oh an lets remind ourselves again the awards like the Purple Heart do not get sent out without documents.

Approved awards of the Purple Heart require the publication of permanent orders according to AR 600–8–105, citing each recipient. A DA Form 4980–10 (The Purple Heart Medal Certificate) will include the following information: The recipient’s name and grade, date wounded in action, and date certificate is signed. All Purple Heart Medal certificates will bear the signature and signature block of the Secretary of the Army on the right side. During wartime, the signature and signature block of the commander authorized to award the Purple Heart will be on the left side. All other Purple Hearts awarded will bear the signature and signature block of The Adjutant General of the Army.

But they continue with shifting the blame to Jon Doe aide.

Betsui and Lake said the issue is a misunderstanding. They insist they were misinformed by the Kirkpatrick aide, who told them Lake had been nominated for the Medal of Honor and suggested asking for donations.

Again, what made you believe that a aide to a single Congresswoman would have any power approve a MOH by herself? Or that it would require money to do it. However it seems that it was the other way around with Betsui trying to lobby to the Congresswoman

Jasper’s niece Gailene Bitsuie, 26, took time from her own schedule to work on securing Specialist Jasper Lake’s award as well as continuing to advocate for his United States Congressional Medal of Honor. With the help and support of the Kayenta Veterans Organization, on January 07, 2011, President Joe Shirley Jr., signed into law by Resolution of the Navajo Nation Council CJA-01-11, which reads: “Relating to Human Services; supporting the recommendation of awarding Specialist Jasper Lake the United States Congressional Medal of Honor for his wartime actions during Operation Enduring Freedom and in defense of his fellow soldiers in the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade (SBCT), 25th Infantry Division (L) and the United States Army, the United States of America and the Navajo Nation.” The lobbying for the award continues at the state level with U.S. Representative and Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s office.

But I love this part.

Lake, originally from Arizona and now an iron worker in New Mexico, said it was his decision to take the petition off the Internet.

“When I read it, it didn’t seem right, so I had them take it all off,” he said.

But not enough for him to send messages on Twitter directing them to his blog, the same one that was asking for money.

Earlier this month, Sporkmaster lit into phony soldier Jasper Lake. His blog post caught the attention of Stars & Stripes The Rumor Doctor, one of our newest fans, who used the assets at his disposal to investigate Lake.

Lake’s company commander at the time said Lake was not considered for the Medal of Honor.

“I remember Lake, but it’s really unfortunate that he or others are pushing for this recognition that was never considered for him,” Maj. Kevin R. Golinghorst told The Rumor Doctor in an e-mail. “He and these organizations should be proud of his service and leave it at that.”

Go read the rest.