{"id":69740,"date":"2017-01-10T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=69740"},"modified":"2022-01-23T22:53:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T03:53:22","slug":"michael-bocci-phony-marine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=69740","title":{"rendered":"Michael Bocci; phony Marine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bocci\"<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

Dave Hardin sends us links to the story <\/a>of Michael Bocci who has been taking folks’ money in Oregon with his stories of woe.<\/p>\n

Michael Bocci told a heartbreaking story. The Tualatin man claimed he was a combat veteran; a U.S. Marine who was left to care for his two young children after his wife died in childbirth. <\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

A KGW investigation has identified more than two dozen people, including members of community groups, churches and police agencies, who reached out to help Bocci. They provided money, food or other types of assistance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He had a phony bomb-sniffing dog<\/a> that was killed as a result of fireworks;<\/p>\n

But on the 4th of July \u2014 the second anniversary of his wife\u2019s death in childbirth \u2014 the helicopter pilot lost his bomb-sniffing Springer Spaniel who saved his life twice.<\/p>\n

That night he was on his way to bed when he let his dog \u2013 Ikaika, a USMC sergeant, too \u2014 outside to \u201cdo his business.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the fireworks in a neighbor\u2019s yard scared the dog.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe heard the fireworks and he was trained to go where a lot of lights are,\u201d Bocci told KOIN 6 News. \u201cThen he realized, \u2018Oh, no, that\u2019s not good for me.\u2019 And then he went off I-5 and got killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ikaika was his companion dog who helped with his PTSD and helped nurse Bocci through a stroke he suffered about a year ago.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He knew how to push the media’s buttons. Apparently he stayed away from veterans, until one caught up to him;<\/p>\n

In December, retired U.S. Marine Lon Getlin was asked to meet with Bocci. Getlin has helped numerous wounded veterans through Lines for Life and Semper Fi Odyssey.<\/p>\n

Getlin said Bocci told him he was desperate for money. He repeated his heartbreaking story. He claimed to be a single father with two young children after losing his wife, but added a new twist. Bocci said he\u2019d recently started caring for a 6-month-old baby as a foster parent.<\/p>\n

Oregon Department of Human Services has no record of any contact with Bocci.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more he talked to me, the more fantastical it all became,\u201d said Getlin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n