| Scare quotes around 'deserter' removed, as are the silly blabberings of the director of an anti-war group at the end of the article. |
In a possible message to would-be deserters in Iraq, the US marines have charged a pensioner for not going to war in Vietnam 40 years ago. Former marine private Jerry Texiero was found selling boats and classic cars in Florida under a false name. He was identified as a result of a fraud conviction in 1998, which he said was the result of wrongdoing by a former partner.
Seven years later marine investigators from an "AWOL apprehension unit" compared his fingerprints with their records of deserters. He was first arrested by Florida police in August and handed over to the military on December 21.
Mr Texiero, 65, is being held in Camp Lejeune, a marine base in North Carolina. No date has been set for preliminary hearings. If he is convicted of desertion in a court martial, he could serve three years in a military jail. His lawyers were due to discuss the case with him yesterday.
| I suspect they'll cut some sort of deal, but Mr. Texiero is going to prison for a while, despite the sputtering of all the anti-war groups. |
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