Mayor Robert Levy

[Bill Harsey]

Maybe related, maybe not because I haven't been tracking the story very well but isn't Rush Limbaugh taking some heat for his "phony soldiers" comments?

I think he was talking about the posers but it sounds like others are trying to get his comments to stick to everyone else in the military.

Considering who is trying to paste Rush, I'll take his side without even knowing the whole story.

[Para]

From what I understand, Rush Limbaugh was referring to this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Macbeth

I kid claiming to be a former Ranger, Iraqi war vet who admitted to commiting war atrocities. Only problem was he was booted out of BT/AIT. Of course the liberal spin doctors do not want to lay out the hole truth as it does not serve their purpose.

[The Reaper]

Yeah, this douchebag is a Ranger.

Note the t-shirt, sleeves, and beret, to start with.

TR

[Deadhead 63A1]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299479,00.html

Atlantic City Mayor Missing, City Official Appoints Himself In Charge

Thursday, October 04, 2007

NEW YORK — Where is Atlantic City's mayor?

That's the question being asked not only by residents of the New Jersey gambling mecca, but by local and state officials.

Mayor Bob Levy's administration has said he's absent on temporary medical leave, but won't reveal if he's hospitalized and, if so, where Levy might be.

The city's business administrator, Domenic Cappella, appointed himself acting mayor last week, claiming Levy verbally transferred power to him on Sept. 26.

Some residents are outraged.

"That's like a dictatorship," one resident told a city council meeting Wednesday night. "If I can write a letter saying I'm in charge, this is a third-world — if this is a democracy, what about the voters?"

Levy vanished a week ago — after signing seven city ordinances — amid reports that he was under federal investigation for falsifying his military record. The Press reported that the mayor had falsely claimed to be a Green Beret and was under investigation by the Justice Department.

The Newark Star-Ledger, citing unidentified sources, reported that Levy was suspected of embellishing his military record for financial gain. As a veteran, he could have received more money by exaggerating his service accomplishments.

"If you are sick, if you are in the hospital, let the public know, let the council know," City Councilman Tim Mancuso told CBS station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

Several councilors have called on Cappella to withdraw. Cappella declined to do so at a recent meeting, defending his move to step in by declaring the city needed his leadership. He then walked around to shake hands with all nine councilors before leaving the meeting.

Levy does have a solid military record, having served two tours in Vietnam with the Army. He was never a Green Beret, though.

Ed Kline, a former assemblyman who grew up with Levy, told the Star-Ledger newspaper that the mayor was "down and out," "devastated" and "destroyed" by the revelations about his military record.

[Ret10Echo]

Perhaps the good mayor is self-medicating?

Hard to believe that there is no order of succession......well, maybe not. I'm sure the casino owners would be happy to manage things in the interim.

[Team Sergeant]

Still can't find him. (I'm betting he's staying with Senator john kerry.)

If and when they do find him will someone ask him how he intended to "bump up his veteran's benefits" by serving with the Green Berets? I'd like to "bump up" my veterans benefits also.

No, really, I did serve with the Army Special Forces! Really!

Team Sergeant


Council Tries to Clean Up After Atlantic City Mayor Under Investigation Disappears
Friday, October 05, 2007

Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy
TRENTON, N.J. — An Atlantic City councilman planned Friday to ask a state judge to decide whether the mysterious disappearance of the mayor meant that he had vacated the seat, according to a report.

Bruce Ward planned to file the paperwork Friday morning, the Press of Atlantic City reported. Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy has been missing for days with no word on when he would come back.

Click here to read the Press of Atlantic City report.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney's Office has launched a probe of Levy, making him yet another in a string of local officials to come under the scrutiny of law enforcement recently.

An official with knowledge of the case, who spoke anonymously because the investigation continues, said the probe involves whether Levy's false claims to have served with the U.S. Army Green Berets in Vietnam were a ploy to bump up his veteran's benefits.

Official word from the Levy's office is that he is on an indefinite medical leave, with power transferred verbally from him to the city business administrator, Domenic Cappella. The Mayor's Office has refused to comment on Levy's reason for the medical leave.

RelatedStories
Atlantic City Mayor Missing, City Official Appoints Himself In Charge But City Council members are questioning Cappella's claim to power, asking why the power transfer procedure wasn't more formal.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jim Whelan, a former mayor, is saying that Levy, whom he called his best friend since the two were teenage lifeguards in this gambling mecca's beaches, should either explain why he's been gone or step down.

"You can't have this big mystery going on and have a functioning city government," Whelan said earlier this week.

Some residents are mystified about Levy's disappearance as well.

"What exactly is going on in this city?" resident Steve Young asked during a Wednesday night City Council meeting.

Levy acknowledged last year that he misrepresented his military service in the Vietnam War, conceding that he was never a member of the Army's elite Green Berets.

The Press of Atlantic City used military records that verified Levy was a 20-year Army veteran with two Bronze Stars and two tours of duty in Vietnam, but was not a member of the Army Special Forces.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299640,00.html

[Team Sergeant]

Ex-mayor who lied about Army record to face judge
By GEOFF MULVIHILL | Associated Press Writer
July 24, 2008

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Robert Levy served two Army tours in Vietnam. He reached the rank of master sergeant, and was decorated with an Army Commendation Medal, Bronze Star Medal, a Marksman Badge and several other honors.

But after serving his country with honor, Levy lied about his military experience. He admitted to a judge last year that he embellished his military record to get nearly an additional $25,000 in disability benefits from the government.

The lies led to Levy's resignation as mayor of Atlantic City last year. On Friday, the 61-year-old is scheduled to appear in a federal court in Camden to learn if his deceit will put him behind bars.

He likely faces up to six months in prison under a plea deal which also requires him to reimburse the government for the benefits he received based on the lies. He's hoping to receive probation.



Levy admitted fabricating stories that as a soldier in Vietnam, he had been left in the jungle for weeks along with South Vietnamese troops he was working with to fend for himself. He also claimed to have made a number of parachute jumps when he did not.

The Democrat was elected in 2005 to preside over a city in which the political corruption is almost as famous as the casinos. Four of the last nine mayors have been charged with taking bribes; three men who were on the city council in 2006 have been sent to prison in another bribery case.

While Levy's criminal case is likely coming to an end, it's unclear how he tricked the government.

Vietnam War veterans and their advocates have long seen war impostors and exaggerators as a scourge.

"What we've got is our honor," said Rick Weidman, director of government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America. "When people don't tell the truth, it tarnishes our honor."

Mary Shantag, a researcher with the POW Network who writes biographical sketches of prisoners of war, has exposed roughly 2,600 instances where people lied about their military experience.

Last year, the Office of the Inspector General for Veteran Affairs began tracking "stolen valor" cases that deal with improper benefits. The office says it has made 40 arrests, and another 79 cases are under investigation.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, says most legitimate war veterans downplay their military service.

"Most of the time the veteran would say, 'I was just in the war,"' he said. "You would start looking and they would have a Purple Heart or a Bronze Medal," Sullivan said.

Levy, an Atlantic City native, served in the Army from 1964 until 1984. He did two tours in Vietnam, but spent much of his career as a recruiter close to home, according to military records.

His trouble began in 2006, when The Press of Atlantic City exposed his false claim that he was a Green Beret.

Levy apologized, telling The Associated Press at the time that the Green Beret claim was "something I should have corrected 40 years ago." But the newspaper report triggered a federal investigation into whether he got any extra veterans benefits because of his lies, said Jim O'Neill, an assistant inspector general who examines fraud at the VA.

The plot thickened last fall when Levy called in sick, climbed into his city-issued Dodge Durango and seemingly vanished. He was dubbed "the missing mayor" and city officials tussled over who was in charge.

Two weeks later, Levy's lawyer, Edwin Jacobs, announced that Levy was resigning and that the former mayor had spent time in a facility that treats addictions and mental illness. Jacobs said the mayor was there for "a detox situation."

Neither prosecutors, Levy nor his lawyer have discussed the details of his deceit or how he got away with it as long as he did.

While Levy was telling the general public he had been a Green Beret, that claim was not on the list of falsehoods he acknowledged making to the government.

continued:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...,5051043.story

[tom kelly]

The former Mayor of Atlantic City N J. Robert Levy was sentenced today July 25, 2008 in Federal Court in Camden N J. He received a sentence of 3 years probation and a $5,000 dollar fine plus repayment of $25,000 dollars in benefits he fraudulently received from The Department of Veterans Affairs. This was a lenient sentence considering his deceit and lies over a period of years. Hopefully, this is the last we will see or hear from Mr.Levy...Regard's tom kelly

[Team Sergeant]

One down a few hundred to go.....

Stupid is as stupid does......

Team Sergeant