LI man busted for 'pretending' to be soldier

www.nypost.com ^

[Mind Freed]

This GI Joe wannabe got a hero's welcome just by dressing the part.

A Long Island man was arrested for donning an Army uniform and brazenly posing as a soldier so he'd get bumped up to first class on a flight to JFK from the Dominican Republic, Port Authority cops have charged.

Rock Diaz, 22, of Freeport, has a history of pretending to be a military man to get VIP treatment, cops said -- he once even smooth-talked his way into a jetliner's cockpit, where he was photographed sitting at the controls wearing a goofy grin.

The mile-high huckster was finally brought to earth Friday afternoon when a sharp-eyed customs official at JFK asked him his rank -- and he gave an answer that didn't match the insignia on the uniform he was wearing.

[POWERSBOOTHEFAN]

What a POS.

[Yo-Yo]

Sentence him to 6 months of community service - in Afghanistan.

[POWERSBOOTHEFAN]

Even I know what rank he's supposed to be! I could tell by the chevron that he'd be a Staff Sergeant!

[max americana]

Treat this POS scumbag like a ‘soldier” and send him to leavenworth.

[Fiddlstix]

What A Jerk!

[Bigh4u2]

He’ll get the same punishment that this guy did.

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=143981

Nothing.

[End Times Sentinel]

I have to admit, my son frequently does this.

Not to get special treatment from airlines though, more like wearing camouflage, other military paraphernalia, going on “missions” with his nerf guns and making shooting noises with his mouth while playing with Legos.

I'll put a stop to this as soon as I get home.

[End Times Sentinel]

I don't know his height, but I'm fairly certain you can't be that fat and in the service.

If he's 5-10, it looks like he's about 50lbs over weight.

[jagusafr]

I keep having to turn down offers of an upgrade to first class when I’m flying in uniform - Air Force policy prohibits it. I got one from the CEO of American Airlines, and he was genuinely surprised when I told him I appreciated it, but it was against the rules. He said, “I believe you, but I’ve done the same thing for a number of military members wearing the same uniform you’re wearing.”

Not the greatest endorsement for Core Competency #1: “Integrity First”...

Colonel, USAFR

[Fiddlstix]

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too.....
Anyway, the jerk got caught.......

[count-your-change]

Small thinking, he should have gone for being a general!

[jjm2111]

The judge should give him a choice: three year enlistment or three years in the clink.

[TheGunny]

I say, “education first”. I am willing to bet that 99% of those upgraded do not know that it violates any regulations.

[jjm2111]

Funny how some mil guy can’t accept an upgrade, but members of congress can.

[Alberta's Child]

Much as we might despise people like this, it's worth noting that very few of these cases involve behavior that even remotely reaches the level of a crime. That's why the "Stolen Valor Act" was ruled unconstitutional in that case in your link.

This guy was charged with second-degree impersonation, and there's a good chance the case will get thrown out of court (if it even gets that far) because the prosecution will have a hard time proving that the conditions necessary for an impersonation charge have been met.

[jagusafr]

I hear ya, Gunny - I’ve sent out the missive to my troops three times, and the local legal offices are charged with that responsibility as well. I’ve actually had to be “that Colonel” and tell a 2Lt traveling in blues to have the crew re-seat her in coach. She was embarrassed, I tried to be as discreet as I could, but “when you walk by a violation, you’ve created a new, lower standard”. In her defense, she was 1)a doc, and 2)going to her very first training.

I can hear the old enlisted FReepers grumbling now...

Colonel, USAFR

[jagusafr]

Don’t GET me started...

[Joe 6-pack]

This case is quite illustrative of why, IMHO, the courts were wrong about the Stolen Valor Act. The argument could be made that the upgrade was of no monetary value, because it was free to real service members.

All this guy did was attempt to obtain free recognition to which he was not entitled; no different from somebody claiming to be a SEAL or wearing an unearned Silver Star.

[Alberta's Child]

The rationale of the courts in those cases -- and I agree with this -- is two-fold: (1) the mere fact that "recognition" is given to someone doesn't meet the standard for charging someone with a crime; and (2) there are already plenty of other laws on the books in every state of the union that apply to cases where a person uses misrepresentations like this to defraud someone or to place another person or organization in legal jeopardy. Item (2) is important because it explains why there is no place under the U.S. Constitution for a Federal criminal statute to address this through the "Stolen Valor Act."

In the case of this guy in New York, the impersonation charge would only apply if he impersonated someone to secure a financial or material advantage that should only have been accorded to the person or type of person he was impersonating. Unless the airline in question had a specific -- and publicly documented -- policy of upgrading active-duty military personnel to first class, then the guy committed no crime. The fact that a well-meaning pilot, flight attendant or other airline representative offered to upgrade him to first class simply on the basis of his uniform doesn't make him a criminal.

It's important to remember that in cases like this, the prosecutor has to show that someone suffered harm or financial loss due to the alleged impersonation. Without such a legal standard in place, the police could legitimately walk through every shopping mall in American next December and arrest thousands of men for "impersonating" a guy named Santa Claus.