Another case of Stolen Valor

[revwardoc]

http://www.telegram.com/article/20100514/NEWS/5140520

‘Stolen valor’ phony unmasked by police sgt.

A Millbury man in a Marine uniform with a chest full of medals walked past the wrong guy one night two years ago in The Irish Times bar.

The Millbury man was wearing the uniform of a first sergeant. The Worcester police sergeant on an off-duty assignment at the bar at 244 Main St. was a Marine Reserve first sergeant.

On Wednesday, the Millbury man, Michael P. Frisoli, 46, of 38 Tiffany Circle, Millbury, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to wearing unauthorized military decorations. He is one of the rare cases in Massachusetts of people being prosecuted for wearing military awards he did not earn.

Worcester police Sgt. Timothy M. Watts had been working a detail at the Irish Times when Mr. Frisoli caught his eye about 11:30 p.m. one night in June or July 2008. Sgt. Watts, 46, is a Marine who has been around. He was a convoy commander in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2005 and served at embassies in Niger and Honduras.

Sgt. Watts noticed not only an “extremely overweight” man who would have been out of compliance with Marine Corps appearance and uniform standards, but a display of ribbons that “was nothing less than extraordinary.”

Sgt. Watts, a Marine since 1982, observing 30 individual ribbons and gold Jump Wings, said “the totality of the awards that Frisoli was displaying made no sense to me.”

But he confirmed that Mr. Frisoli approached him and became nervous after Sgt. Watts told him he was a Marine. Although Mr. Frisoli, whom Sgt. Watts believes actually was a Marine, had the right answers to some questions, he told Sgt. Watts that he had been assigned to the Israeli embassy but no other embassy. Sgt. Watts said Mr. Frisoli was wearing the Marine Security Guard Ribbon, which Sgt. Watts said is given only for service at two or more embassies.

Sgt. Watts asked Mr. Frisoli how he had done so many combat tours as a reservist, and Mr. Frisoli replied, Sgt. Watts said, he had “just been around at the ‘wrong time and the wrong places’ ”— an experience that Mr. Frisoli was repeating as he spoke.

The case that was in court this week got its genesis through the work of the state police and the FBI. Among the reasons the state police were interested is because Mr. Frisoli appeared on state police Web pages through his work on Toys for Tots.

Following his guilty plea Wednesday, Mr. Frisoli was released by Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman on conditions while awaiting sentencing Aug. 5. Mr. Frisoli claimed to be a U.S. Marine first sergeant who had earned multiple awards for valor in combat, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony E. Fuller. Those include the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with “V”; Navy Commendation Medal with “V”; Army Commendation Medal with “V”; Navy/Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon; and numerous other individual and unit awards that he did not earn, he said.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said in a statement, “Those who falsely claim to have earned prestigious awards like the Purple Heart and Bronze Star undermine the public’s respect and admiration for those men and women who honorably serve our country in the Armed Services.”

Mr. Frisoli has appeared at public events in uniform wearing the decorations and posing for photographs with state and local officials, according to the prosecution. He also received a plaque from the town at the Millbury Board of Selectmen’s meeting June 24, 2008, in recognition of his service and his work for Toys for Tots.

Mr. Frisoli first appeared in federal court on the “stolen valor” charge Jan. 22 and was released on conditions. Subsequently, Millbury police raided his home.

Millbury Detective Kim Brothers, Sgt. Mark Moore and Patrolman Anthony Belliveau allegedly found heroin and drug paraphernalia. Mr. Frisoli was then arrested April 28 for violating the conditions of his federal release.

Mr. Frisoli has been arrested a number of times and was convicted in 2001 and placed on probation for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Last year he ran for the Planning Board, but was not elected.

The FBI investigated 200 stolen valor cases last year, The Washington Post reported, and typically gets about 50 tips a month.