| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Lead investigator in Green Beret murder case faces charges of stolen valor |
| 2019-02-16 |
| HT WeaselZippers. AWKWARD [ArmyTimes] The Army special agent who led the investigation of a Green Beret charged with the murder of an alleged Afghan bomb-maker now faces charges of stolen valor. And both the Green Beret's attorney and others in military legal circles say the charge could have a serious impact on the Army's case against Maj. Mathew Golsteyn. Based on that recent development and other allegations of case mismanagement, Golsteyn has waived his right to an Article 32, or probable cause hearing, and asked the government to speed up the trial process or dismiss the charges. On Thursday, Golsteyn also requested for a reassignment of military duty from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the Military District of Washington, D.C. On Jan. 31, Sgt. 1st Class Mark A. Delacruz, a special agent with Army Criminal Investigation Command, was charged with falsifying promotion files and other records by listing on at least three occasions a Purple Heart award that he never received and the "unauthorized wear" on other occasions of that ribbon, the Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge and Combat Action Badge, none of which he rated. Army CID confirmed those details of the charges and a spokesman said in an email that "he has been suspended from duty since the allegations came to light in late 2018." The spokesman, Jeffrey Castro, declined further comment on the case. A copy of the Delacruz charge sheet obtained by Army Times further verified details of the allegations he faces. U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which oversees the Army's Special Forces groups and associated units to which Golsteyn is assigned, did not respond to requests for comment. Attempts by Army Times to reach Delacruz through social media and a listed phone number were unsuccessful. Phillip Stackhouse, Golsteyn's attorney, told Army Times that Delacruz was the investigator who interviewed key witnesses that led to the murder charge and was expected to be a main witness for the prosecution. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #3 Well, if you use ideological purity as the primary criteria for employment, you gotta expect things like this |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2019-02-16 14:27 |
| #2 ...Bad enough, but doing it while you're still in the uniform takes a special kind of stupid, especially in the CID community. It AIN'T that big, and people know each other. And they talk. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2019-02-16 14:15 |
| #1 Winners all around... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-02-16 12:56 |