Phony war hero indicted for fraud involving Leavenworth construction projects

Lawrence Journal-World ^ | 6/17/2011 | Sara Shepherd

[One Name]

Glad they caught him- somewhat amazing he could pull in 6.8 million in payments from jobs at Fort Leavenworth before the background check came in....

[Christian Engineer Mass]

“jobs reserved for companies owned by true service-disabled veterans”

These kinds of laws, laws that make engineering companies whose main advertisement is “MINORITY OWNED”, sicken me.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[ArchAngel1983]

I’m sure the Supreme Jerks will rule in his favor.

[doc1019]

I thought the Supreme Court said it was ok to fake your military history? Freedom of expression, first amendment and all that.

[driftdiver]

I own a service disabled small business, hasn’t done me a damn bit of good.

[wolfman23601]

How did he get his 8(a) disadvantage SDVO status? As a contractor for an 8(a) company, there has to be more to the story. Someone on the government side was playing ball.

[One Name]

Or pretending to do their job and got burned. Don’t know anymore than what I read.

[wolfman23601]

You have to find a sole source stream for the 8(a) work and get in on some equipment sales for non 8(a) revenue. It is a cat and mouse game.

[RaceBannon]

it was a lower circuit court, not the supremes, right??

[One Name]

It is indeed another form of affirmative action; one no one wants to disagree with for fear of being accused of anti-patriotism.

But, like any government program that attempts to “level the playing field” for some group, fraud and abuse seem rampant.

[doc1019]

Not sure, that’s why I asked.

[Christian Engineer Mass]

I’m sure that’s true. These laws really only exist to favor democrat constituencies. I’m sure that particular law is quite rare.

[sergeantdave]

That’s nothing. You oughta see some of the guys I sit next to in the vet bars.

One guy claimed he was a Marine, and when I asked his MOS, he told me it was Top Secret. And it was Top Secret because if it got out, assassins would kill him.

[doc1019]

I know what you mean, I have a “Navy Seal” living down the street. When I told him I was an ex navy seal myself (no I am not, just testing him), his story suddenly changed, said he worked with them. LOL!

[One Name]

I understand being insecure about your accomplishments in life and embellishing your role in real events but to completely fabricate an alter ego in this day and age is a doomed endeavour I would think.

Pathological, they are. This outfit had a greed motive that adds a dimension to the equation.

[Arkansas Tider]

You need to change your name, you want to put down a disabled veteran competing for a contract. Maybe you should spend a few years in Iraq or asscrackistan and you might feel a little different.

[Seaplaner]

It couldn't happen (wrong state); however this vet would love to sit on Mr. Phony Hero's jury.

(Hint: He might not want want me.)

.

[stylecouncilor]

What a dirty rat.

[tlb]

>>> I thought the Supreme Court said it was ok to fake your military history? Freedom of expression, first amendment and all that.

That’s about right. George Castanza can try to get laid by boasting he is an architect or a green beret. He however cannot build a skyscraper likely to collapse and kill 10,000, or steal millions of tax dollars by defrauding a government veteran’s preference program. Seems a reasonable balance.

[Tainan]

Man...this guy really piled on the manure...

Parker’s concocted war-hero persona was over the top.
Parker claimed he was a major in the Army who had completed three tours of duty in Vietnam, the indictment said. He claimed he was awarded three Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, four Bronze Stars with Valor, 11 Air Medals with Valor and 300 hours of combat air time, three Purple Heart Medals, a Presidential Citation, a U.S. Army Citation, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Vietnam Service Medal with 79 Battle Stars and more than 32 Citations for Heroism.
In reality, Grissom said, Parker served five years in the Missouri National Guard and never left the state on active duty. He was honorably discharged in 1968 as an equipment mechanic, and the only decoration he received was an expert shooting badge.

Once he started with the BS I guess he just kept digging the hole.