Feds: Man dressed as Marine, wore Navy Cross

[unhappycamper]

Steven Burton, 39, is seen in a photograph that prosecutors say the Palm Springs resident posted on the Internet. An affidavit from an FBI agent said Burton wore a Marine Corps uniform and a number of medals although he did not serve in any branch of the military.


Feds: Man dressed as Marine, wore Navy Cross
By Brian Indrelunas - The Desert Sun
Posted : Wednesday Nov 11, 2009 16:17:38 EST

A Palm Springs man who prosecutors say wore military uniforms and medals but never served in the armed forces has been charged with unauthorized wearing of military medals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

Contacted at his Palm Springs home Wednesday morning, 39-year-old Steven Burton declined to comment on prosecutors’ allegations that he wore awards including the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart.

Prosecutors have not determined if the decorations are actual medals issued by the military or counterfeit replicas, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Akrotirianakis said federal law prohibits the unauthorized wearing of both real medals and what the law calls “colorable imitations.”

An FBI investigator also said Burton blogged about being a Marine, writing about combat in Fallujah and saying he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Burton is expected to appear Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Riverside, prosecutors said. He is expected to enter a plea at the initial court appearance.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/11/gns_stolen_valor_arrest_111109/

[Teaser]

1. so this guy made some shit up, blogged it, and took some faked pics

and may now be charged with a felony (and I assume receive jail time)?

This is a waste of prosecutorial time. Find a criminal who is actually hurting someone.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Anyone figured out his Freeper name yet?

Seriously, as a Vet, I can't agree with you that it's a waste of prosecutorial time. The guys (and gals) who earned them for real don't need them diminished by some asshole claiming to have been some super hero

[More_liberal_than_mo]

3. I can't agree more

It's assholes like him that give Marines a bad name. He's trying to steal the honor of real Marines that actually have seen combat. Prosecute him to the full extent of the law. I bet he's a freeper and chicken hawk as well.

[zbdent]

4. Paintball Patriots

[Teaser]

5. You cannot diminish a symbol.

A symbol is only diminished if the interpreter of the symbol allows it to be diminished. Does anyone who knows what the medals mean think less of them because some overzealous clown decided to use them as costume jewelery? If they do, the problem is with their brains.

The only thing this guy diminished is his own standing in the community.

I see no difference between this and burning a flag. Crappy, distasteful behavior. Not a crime. And *certainly* worthy of nothing more than a fine.

Now if he decides to use the perceived authority of the uniform/medals to cause material harm to another person, like someone who plays cop to extort someone else, that's another story. But I don't see that anything of that sort was done here.

[Ian David]

6. The Swiftboaters diminished the meaning of the medals, not this guy.

The GOP Swifboaters taught us that in Vietnam, medals were handed out like candy to anybody who asked for them.

[niyad]

7. so glad the prosecutors have nothing to do with their time. I didn't know riverside had become

such a law-abiding haven.

seriously, I can understand military members being upset--but this guy looks like a cartoon. has anybody in the corps ever gotten that many medals?