Re-enlisting Led to Warfare and Charges of Murder - Marine (2Lt.Pantano)Faces Death Penalty

Today, Second Lt. Ilario G. Pantano of the Marine Corps is the suspect in the murder of two people in Iraq. But years ago, he was known to his friends as a Renaissance man, a mover and shaker in the downtown Manhattan world of independent films and Internet television.

By November 2000 he had founded his own company, Filter Media, and later joined other alumni of the elite Horace Mann School, who were running the Shooting Gallery, a film company that produced "Sling Blade," "You Can Count on Me" and other movies.

He had served as a marine in the Persian Gulf war of 1991; he left the corps to attend New York University when he was 21. Later he was an energy trader for Goldman Sachs, he delivered food to homeless shelters, and he helped a friend promote his new restaurant.

But after watching the World Trade Center come crashing down on Sept. 11, 2001, taking the lives of several friends, his life took another turn.

He moved to Battery Park City a few months afterward and passed ground zero daily. He told friends that the sight pained his heart.

James Rafferty, who has known Lieutenant Pantano for 11 years, said he believed that the terror attack prompted Lieutenant Pantano's decision to re-enlist in the Marines.

"I think for Ilario it kind of brought him to the realization that he is a marine and there are things that need to be done so that stuff like this doesn't happen again," Mr. Rafferty said. "It would be hard to sit back and not be a part of that."

He added, "I think he felt like his brothers are going to fight for our freedom, and if he still can, then he will."

After re-enlisting, Lieutenant Pantano went to Iraq with the Second Marine Division, landing in March 2004. He fought in the battle of Falluja last spring.

Now, his lawyer said, he is facing murder charges that stemmed from his role in the shooting deaths of two Iraqi men south of Baghdad on April 15.

The shooting occurred during a search of a vehicle suspected of transporting insurgents, said the lawyer, Charles Gittins, who added that Lieutenant Pantano could face the death penalty.

"The Marine Corps is saying he is a murderer, and those are slanderous allegations," Mr. Gittins said.

Lieutenant Pantano is back in the United States with his wife and two children, at his home in Wilmington, N.C., near Camp Lejeune. Maj. Matt Morgan, a Marine Corps spokesman, said a hearing in the coming weeks would determine formal charges. Major Morgan said no further information would be released before the hearing.

Through his lawyer, Lieutenant Pantano declined a request to be interviewed. But, the lawyer said, "He is fighting mad."

Friends and family members are rallying to his defense, unable to reconcile the man they know as a bright, if enigmatic, level-headed city boy equally conversant in movies and military technology with the thought that he could have deliberately killed people without justification.

"Ilario returned from Iraq a hero but there are some dark forces still trying to bring him down," his wife, Jill Chapman, wrote in an e-mail message to friends.

People who knew him from his days in film and media in New York struggled to absorb the news.

"I find this all fairly unbelievable," said Vladimir Edelman, a former business partner who founded Filter Media with Lieutenant Pantano in 2000. Now defunct, it was a consulting agency to the budding interactive television industry that once counted Sony Pictures Digital and MSNBC among its clients, according to a company press release.

Friends said they found Lieutenant Pantano, who grew up in Hell's Kitchen, to be a curious player on the Internet media scene. Some knew that, fulfilling a boyhood fascination with the military, he had served in the Marines in the early 1990's. They surmised that he had entered the high-charged, creative atmosphere of Internet media and film because it appealed to his drive and artistic inclinations.

"He is an incredibly passionate, creative guy," Mr. Edelman said. "I was like, 'What are you doing here? You were a former sniper? How does that happen?' He was not your typical Hoo-ah military guy, but he was always patriotic."

Lieutenant Pantano was an executive in the Internet division of the Shooting Gallery.

But the company fell victim to the downturn in the economy in mid-2001. He ultimately left it in the months before he re-enlisted in the Marines in early 2003.

Lieutenant Pantano's mother, Merry Pantano, suggested that her son might have headed back to Iraq if the Marines' investigation had not arisen.

"He was fierce in battle and compassionate at home as any of his friends or colleagues can tell you," she wrote on the Web site she set up, defendthedefenders.org. "He has often demonstrated he would do anything to protect and save the lives of his men, and until he received a charge sheet for murder, he was preparing to go back to Iraq with his brothers and do it again."

It was an Australian movie set during the Boer War where basically the British executed two Australians for killing Boer Guerillas, in the hope it would help get them to the peace table. Morant was a scapegoat for the Empire.

I remember now catching the tail end of the movie on TV. Never got the title however. You're right. These inquisitions each time an islamofascist gets "iced" has the appearance we're "busting ass" to look PC to the rag heads by scapegoating our own guys. This kind of shit does not promote a high enlistment rate.

Evidence now indicates that troop strength is so low that the fat ass army paper shufflers are beginning to fill vacancies in combat units with women recruits. Supposedly something like 30 women KIA and 200 plus wounded so far. I can't believe this shit...that the US military is so feminized it will place females into combat roles (ground and air) rather than draft males to fill quotas.

"The Marines shot out the vehicle's tires to force it to a halt, took the two men into custody and ordered them to rip out the seats and the interior of the vehicle during a search for booby traps and secret compartments, Gittens said."

Before turning them loose to search the car, the Marines undoubtedly searched them thoroughly. The Marines also would have watched them carefully to make sure they didn't seize a weapon from the car. Accordingly, when the two men approached him, the Lieutenant must have been aware that they were unarmed. No, it doesn't look good for the Lieutenant.

Understand that all you've heard from this account is from the family and attorney of the accused. The truth lies somewhere in between. What if he did kill them in cold blood instead of in self defense? What if the "disgruntled" Marine witnessed the murder, and was warned to stay silent about it.

You call this man a hero for killing the enemy, but if he killed unarmed men in cold blood, does that make him a hero? Marine Officers are paid to make sound decisions in stressful situations. If this was in self defense...good on him. But what if he decided on that day that he was frustrated with chasing the elusive enemy, and decided to say, “The heck with EPWs...I'm just going to waste these guys?” Say a few Marines witnessed this, and he told them to shut up about it. If a Marine's conscience forces him to tell the truth three months later, does that label him "disgruntled"?

Point is...you label him a hero after hearing one side of the story. If that were your foundation for judgment you’d be out buying Michael Jackson CDs and hoping your kids could go spend the night at Neverland. Trust me...while MOST Marines are tremendous individuals...there are the "10%"....both enlisted and officers. Don’t let the butterbar make you think he’s flawless. Let's wait this one out and trust the system. While the Marine Corps has issues…why would they go on a witch hunt for this guy? They have plenty of other worries right now. You think they want this PR nightmare? They are the ones that raised concern over this…not the media.

"Before turning them loose to search the car, the Marines undoubtedly searched them thoroughly. The Marines also would have watched them carefully to make sure they didn't seize a weapon from the car. Accordingly, when the two men approached him, the Lieutenant must have been aware that they were unarmed. No, it doesn't look good for the Lieutenant."

There’s always doubt in an “undoubtedly” thorough search, how completely they were watched and what even unarmed potential insurgents were capable of when refusing orders to halt and seconds from overtaking you.

It’s unprecedented for any nation anytime anywhere to criminally hold combatants fighting such an insurgency to that level of perfection in judgment. To do so affects morale and combat effectiveness. The people who proposed such a thing, especially when we’re having such difficulty attracting both officers, combat arms troops and Marines in this war, are at least as “criminally” responsible for poor judgment.

I have great confidence in the forthcoming UCMJ proceedings. If exonerated, the UCMJ permits Lt. Pantano to prefer charges against his accuser. That is, unless he is overruled by higher command, as Chuck Yeager was at one point in his career. Let's get this out of the way and get back to the real business of killing people and breaking things.

In response to comment #47.

First off, welcome to Free Republic. A forum that allows all us the opportunity to share our point of view.

I agree, there is probably something in the middle when it comes to the facts of the case. My husband sent me the very same note, he is one of our finest serving our country and I respect beloved's point of view. Thus, I am open to your thoughts.

I think many of us hope that the good prevails and that includes our military folks.

Both articles are light on facts so it is difficult to render a fact based opinion. The USMC does waste a lot of time or energy prosecuting guys for doing their job's in combat, so obviously there is more to the story than is presented. What is missing might the facts as to why this Marine is facing charges?

I did not label him a hero. I asked my fellow Freepers for a discussion of this news item.

I do think, with events going on in Iraq and Afghanistan we do try to find a reason to justify actions. I do not take glee in the loss of life, but, I will say if it were our guy verses their guy I will stand behind our guy. Until facts prove otherwise.

Breaker Morant - 1980 Aussie movie (pretty good one, as I remember)

Tagline: When they speak of heroes - of villains - of men who look for action, who choose between honor and revenge - they tell the story of Breaker Morant

Plot Outline: Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.

You call this man a hero for killing the enemy, but if he killed unarmed men in cold blood, does that make him a hero?

The platoon leader did not know whether the terrorists were armed or not when they approached. They had been to the SUV is my understanding. The marines had not checked out the SUV wishing to avoid possible booby traps. When the terrorists failed to obey the command to halt, all the more reason to believe they picked something out of the SUV...an explosive? Bingo!! You shoot. Sometimes you're right. Sometimes you're wrong. But all the time you and your platoon live. Makes perfectly good sense to me. If there is anything in the rules of engagement that this violates, then the problem is with the ROE. So what's the beef 0302??

Furthermore, the ROE apparently do not...although they should...provide for the immediate execution of enemy combatants out of uniform. For some reason, in this shitty war, they seem to have more constitutional rights than our own guys.

I did not label him a hero. I asked my fellow Freepers for a discussion of this news item.

Any guy that has served our country in two wars is a hero Chick. Lt Pantano IS A HERO. I don't know how many "gooners" he's whacked overall, but I'd wager he's gotten his quota. These latest two will not be screwing with the US marines anymore and that's what counts. Lt Pantano is the kind of soldier that wins wars. Not the desk jockeys that sit on their ass till their pants are shiney figuring out ways to make themselves seem important by screwing over the troops. The problem here is with a command structure that has allowed these charges to even see the light of day...apparently thinking we're fighting a bunch of pom pom girlies over there. Unless these girly boys (Probably left over from the good old clintonista days) are cleaned out and replaced by George S. Patton types, we're going to loose this freaking war. That's my take chick.

Thanks for the response, and the welcome to Free Republic. I've read this blog a lot...but have never felt compelled to post until now.

So...accept my apology if this looked like an attack on you personally. I meant this as a general posting...but hit "reply" on your posting.

Hopefully he will get his day in court, and the truth will be exposed. The JA staff at Camp Lejeune is more than competent, and the last thing they want to do is prosecute a decorated Marine combat leader...trust me when I tell you this: they wish they could make this one go away.

Semper Fi.

I have no "beef" with you or the Lieutenant, kimosabe31. Nor have I declared that he's guilty.

Answer this: Why would the Marine Corps be doing this unless there was evidence that proves that he MAY have committed murder? The good PR? Nope. Bored lawyers? Doubt it. This is the last thing that they want...to nail a decorated officer for murder.

My point is this: Unless you were there and you saw what happened, don’t rush to judgment. Only a few people know the exact events of that day. It may have been a justified shooting, but there is a chance that it was not. And sometimes highly competent individual lose it. As luck has it, we live in a country that will give the Lieutenant his day in court, and not a firing squad on the battlefield, like you are suggesting we do to our enemy.

Lt. Pantano could have avoided this whole tragedy if he had not uncuffed the prisoners. He said he did so in order for them to check the vehicle, yet he was standing only a few feet away, so if there was an explosion, Pantano himself would have been blown to bits. So he used TWO magazines to kill these guys, drapes their bodies over the SUV and leaves a touching note.

He should have taken his prisoners to the pokey and just blown up the car. Simple.

Answer this: Why would the Marine Corps be doing this unless there was evidence that proves that he MAY have committed murder? The good PR? Nope. Bored lawyers? Doubt it. This is the last thing that they want...to nail a decorated officer for murder.

You're forgetting the possibility of some powerful liberal politician sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. Just my guess as to why they would try and make something out of nothing.

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