Whether man violated Stolen Valor Act up in air

On a Web site called Connexion.org, a profile that appears to be that of Marine impostor Rick Strandlof mimics the kind of Web pages posted by privates and officers alike to document their lives in war.

One picture shows Marines carousing with beers in hand. Another shows four men in green service dress at a memorial for fallen warriors, accompanied with the caption "Me and my Marines."

Others depict military rifles, campaign medals for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and a lone Marine in the desert, his face concealed with a scarf.

The owner of the profile, 32-year-old "Rick in Denver," never appears in uniform or with the medals. But at least one visitor to the page on Connexion.org, a gay dating Web site, left a comment proclaiming him a "hero."

"He very carefully skirted things," said Doug Sterner, a Pueblo man whose hobby is hunting fake veterans. "But I don't think he skirted them closely enough."

Sterner, who reviewed the Web site at The Gazette's request, is among those who believe that the 32-year-old Strandlof could face prosecution under the 2005 Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal offense to falsely claim military honors.

He believes that federal authorities could mount a case based on Strandlof's many claims during his tenure with the Colorado Veterans Alliance, a group of veterans' advocates that was active in Colorado Springs.

Under the assumed name of Rick Duncan, Strandlof spun elaborate stories about the grave injuries he received in a roadside bombing that killed four Marines. He also falsely claimed to be a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and a 9/11 survivor.

He repeated those stories at public events and in political ads for Hal Bidlack, who ran an unsuccessful bid for Congress in the district representing Colorado Springs.

"From my point of view, just saying that he was wounded, that's a verbal claim to a Purple Heart," Sterner said.

Ray Funderburk, formerly of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, agrees.

"It's obviously a stolen valor case. This guy was telling everybody he was something he's not," said Funderburk, a Vietnam War veteran and the recipient of a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts who lives in Tennessee.

If federal authorities agree, Strandlof could face harsher treatment under the Stolen Valor Act, which calls for enhanced penalties for those claiming to be a Purple Heart recipient, or up to a year in a federal prison.

One or two of the photos on Connexion.org could bolster the case, Sterner believes.

A stolen valor prosecution is not the only legal trouble he faces, according to the Colorado Veterans Alliance, which exposed Strandlof as a fraud this week after conducting its own investigation of his claims.

The group said the FBI in Denver is exploring whether Strandlof could have stolen donations he accepted on behalf of Colorado veterans. Federal authorities declined to comment on whether Strandlof is under investigation.

Strandlof was arrested Tuesday night in Denver on a traffic warrant from El Paso County.

He remained in the Denver County jail on a $1,000 bond as of Friday night.

Daniel Warvi, the spokesman for the CVA, which decided to disband in the wake of Strandlof's lies, believes the group's founder and executive director learned to speak convincingly about military life by researching military blogs.

He managed to con prominent veterans, politicians and veterans' advocates throughout the state.

"He had me fooled," said the El Pomar Foundation's Terrance McWilliams, a retired command sergeant major from Fort Carson who worked on veterans issues with Strandlof several times.

The younger man spoke convincingly of the battle in Fallujah and of life and work in a war zone Forward Operating Base, said McWilliams, who fought in Kuwait in the first Gulf War. McWilliams said he attributed discrepancies in his story to Strandlof's purported brain injuries.

Sterner - who documents true heroes at homeofheroes.com - said there's no shortage of examples of politicians falling prey to the lies and distortions of attention-seekers, including the case of a phony World War II veteran who nearly got a Las Vegas post office named in his honor.

He wants to see a publicly accessible master list of military award recipients.

"We admire and respect our heroes, and it goes against the grain to doubt the word of someone who serves our country," Sterner said. "We take them at their word."

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