"3 ex-soldiers accused of murder plot" by Larry Neumeister | Associated Press September 28, 2013
NEW YORK — Two former American soldiers — one nicknamed ‘‘Rambo’’ — and a former German soldier faced charges Friday that they plotted to kill a US drug enforcement agent and an informant for $800,000 in a fake assassination plan created to catch the trained snipers gone bad, authorities said.
The charges were announced by prosecutors in Manhattan, where an indictment unsealed in federal court portrayed a trio of former soldiers eager to kill for money.
‘‘That’s fun, actually for me that’s fun. I love this work,’’ the former German soldier was quoted in court papers as saying. The documents described numerous conversations at meetings in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean from January through September that were recorded by Drug Enforcement Administration agents building a case through confidential sources posing as Colombian drug traffickers.
‘‘The bone-chilling allegations in [Friday’s] indictment read like they were ripped from the pages of a Tom Clancy novel,’’ said US Attorney Preet Bharara.
One wonders if this is more government staged and scripted fiction.
The indictment described Joseph Hunter, 48, also known as ‘‘Rambo,’’ as the leader of the group of ex-snipers. Hunter, a resident of Thailand, was being flown to New York, Bharara said. Hunter was to appear in court Saturday.
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Another FBI instigated fraud and set-up?
"Military probes Instagram flag photo" Associated Press February 27, 2014
DENVER — A photo posted on Instagram showing a soldier deliberately avoiding saluting the flag touched off a military investigation and a storm of criticism.
Related: Saluting War Criminals
Maybe she didn't want to.
Base officials issued a statement Wednesday saying that they are aware of a social media post allegedly made by Private First Class Tariqka Sheffey indicating she stayed in her car to avoid a flag ceremony, and that they are looking into the situation.
Comments posted with the photo showing a female soldier in uniform relaxing in a car said, ‘‘This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the [flag].” Her comments also told people to keep any angry responses to themselves.
According to the Department of Defense Uniform Code of Military Justice, soldiers are required to refrain from posting on social media any comments or visual images that could hurt the military and to ask permission before sending sensitive information. Cases are decided on a case-by-case basis. Punishment could range from a letter of reprimand to a court-martial.
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"Kansas military school faces abuse suit" Associated Press March 04, 2014
WICHITA — This week, St. John’s Military School, the 126-year-old Episcopalian boarding school, goes to trial in federal court over claims made by 11 former students who contend its practice of giving higher-ranking cadets the power to discipline younger ones encourages physical and mental abuse....
The trial, set to start Tuesday before US District Judge John Lungstrum in Kansas City, Kan., could provide a rare public airing of the allegations against the private, quasi-military program. It is expected to last three weeks....
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Globe never got back to me on it.
"Navy says pilot in fighter crash died" Associated Press March 04, 2014
FALLON, Nev. — A day after a jet fighter went down during a training exercise in western Nevada, the Navy said late Sunday that the pilot had been killed in the crash.
It took rescue crews several hours to reach the site of Saturday’s crash on a training complex east of Naval Air Station Fallon because of a snow storm and mountainous, remote terrain. But there was no immediate word released about the pilot....
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"Guardsman faces explosives count" Associated Press March 04, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Explosive devices seized from an Indiana Guardsman who was pulled over for speeding in Ohio were capable of causing death if they were detonated, according to a federal complaint.
The government said nine of the devices could have caused injuries or death.
Investigators also found numerous videos and photographs showing defendant Andrew Boguslawski, family members, and associates — including Boguslawski’s 16-year-old niece — blowing up several devices, according to the court papers.
The 44-year-old Boguslawski appeared briefly in court Monday afternoon at a hearing, where he acknowledged he had read the charge against him: possession of destructive devices not registered to him in a national firearms database.
Boguslawski waived a bond hearing Wednesday, meaning the government now has 30 days to seek an indictment. Defense lawyer Mark Babb declined to comment.
Video evidence showed Boguslawski had used explosive devices as weapons and distraction devices near civilians and military personnel, according to the complaint by Timothy Burt, special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The complaint does not say where the devices were blown up but says his niece lives in Ford City, Pa.
Boguslawski had worked at an Indiana National Guard training center and told troopers he had the items for training purposes.
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"Indiana man to admit to having explosives" Associated Press March 21, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Indiana Guardsman who agreed to plead guilty to having homemade explosive devices in his vehicle when he was stopped in Ohio had planned to use them for legitimate training purposes and not to hurt people, his attorney said Thursday.
Andrew Boguslawski, 44, signed an agreement this week to plead guilty to possessing nine unregistered bombs and four other devices that could be converted to bombs, according to federal court documents. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.
While Boguslawski is guilty of having the illegal devices, he never planned to use them to strike anyone or anything, according to his lawyer, Steven Nolder. He did not specify what kind of training Boguslawski planned to do with them.
‘‘It isn’t what the media made this case out to be, that this person had some malicious, malevolent intent,’’ Nolder said. He said Boguslawski may have been ‘‘reckless’’ in making and hauling the devices, but there was no plot involved.
A state trooper stopped Boguslawski on Jan. 1 for traveling 88 miles per hour in a 70 mile-per-hour zone on Interstate 70. Prosecutors said he was on his way back to Indiana after visiting family in Pennsylvania.
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UPDATE: Sergeant accused of sex assaults in Missouri, Afghanistan
Also see: U.S. Military Making Their Move
