Katelyn McClure, 29, pleaded guilty to theft by deception

New Jersey woman pleads guilty in 'feel good' GoFundMe scam with homeless vet

NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
April 16, 2019

Prosecutors have said that she and her then-boyfriend concocted a story about the man giving the couple his last $20 when they ran out of gas.

Kate McClure appears in court at Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J. on April 15, 2019.Joe Lamberti / Camden Courier-Post via AP, Pool

A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty Monday to helping swindle thousands of GoFundMe donors out of more than $400,000 with what authorities called a “fairy tale narrative.”

Katelyn McClure, 29, pleaded guilty to theft by deception and will serve a four-year term in state prison, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

McClure and D’Amico created a GoFundMe campaign that aimed to raise $10,000 to get Bobbitt off the streets.

The then-couple raked in $402,000 from 14,000 donors — a sum authorities say they quickly spent on gambling, a BMW and a trip to Las Vegas, among other things.
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Homeless 'good Samaritan' gets probation in GoFundMe scam
By: DAVID PORTER, Associated Press
Posted: Apr 12, 2019

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) - A homeless man was sentenced to five years' probation Friday after admitting last month that he conspired with a couple to scam the public out of $400,000 in donations by concocting a feel-good story about him helping a motorist in distress.

Johnny Bobbitt had pleaded guilty in state court to conspiracy to commit theft by deception. Conditions of his sentence include inpatient drug treatment and cooperation with prosecutors against his co-defendants. If he violates those conditions, he will be sentenced to five years in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 18 months.
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Child bullied after Dad's suicide, has Veteran Dad by her side

Four Idahoans in the national spotlight after viral video

KIVI 6 News
By: Natasha Williams
Apr 15, 2019

Before the heartwarming video went viral, Khloe had been dealing with some bullying at school for not having a dad. She says the video changed everything.

BOISE, Idaho — Steve Exceen and his daughter Sarai have a special bond with Mary Braunstein and her daughter Khloe--so much so they say the four Idahoans are a package deal.

"It was basically like...(pause)...friendship at the first moment," Sarai said.

You might remember the special moment, caught on camera, we brought to you back in February.

A local veteran and his daughter stepped in to take a fifth-grade girl to a daddy-daughter dance after she lost her own father to suicide after a battle with PTSD. The sweet video went viral and now has more than four million views.
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Woman found dead at Arlington National Cemetery apparent suicide

Woman Dies in Apparent Suicide at Arlington National Cemetery

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
15 Apr 2019

A woman died by apparent suicide Monday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just yards from Joint Base Henderson Hall-Fort Myer.

Arlington National Cemetery, shown May 17, 2013. (U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley)

The death took place near the Confederate Memorial in the western portion of the cemetery, according to a report by local news outlet ARLnow.

Emergency responders from the base and Arlington County were called to the scene, according to reports.

"We are deeply saddened to learn about the apparent suicide in the cemetery earlier today," Arlington National Cemetery spokesman Timothy Lawson said Monday. "Our thoughts are with the family at this time."

Lawson could not provide information on the deceased and did not say whether the person was affiliated with the military or the cemetery. The location in which she died is easily accessible through Fort Myer, the home of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard -- the regiment that stands vigil at Arlington's Tomb of the Unknowns and serves as the U.S. Army's main ceremonial unit.
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POTUS wants snooping on disabled vets who look too happy?

Disability Advocate Slams White House’s Veteran Surveillance Plan

The Hill
BY TODD NEIKIRK
April 15, 2019

Republicans have long presented themselves as the unquestioned pro-military political party. In the last few months, however, conservatives have been targeting veteran benefits. Fox News hosts, Brian Kilmeade and Pete Hegseth, got in on the act recently, taking aim at vets who they believe to be claiming too many benefits.

The White House has recently taken aim at former troops as well, creating a new social media surveillance policy. According to the New York Times, the Social Security administration is on the look out for disabled vets who look too happy.

Lawyer, Robert Crowe, says, “There is a little bitty chance that Social Security may be snooping on your Facebook or your Twitter account. You don’t want anything on there that shows you out playing Frisbee.”
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NCIS investigating murder-suicide in Okinawa involving sailor

Japan: Sailor kills woman, self in Okinawa

The Associated Press
By: Yuri Kageyama
April 13, 2019

TOKYO — A U.S. serviceman fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself in Okinawa on Saturday, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in the southwestern Japanese region.

The apartment where a U.S. servicemen and a Japanese woman were found dead, in Chatan town on Okinawa on Saturday. The sailor fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself , according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in Japan's southwestern region. (Kyodo News via AP)

U.S. Forces Japan said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was working with local police to look into the deaths of a U.S. Navy sailor assigned to a Marine unit and an Okinawa resident.

“This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation,” it said in a statement, adding that more information would be released later.
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Vietnam veteran collected from VA for blindness since 1969...but had drivers license

Vietnam vet pretended to be blind to defraud VA

By: The Associated Press
April 13, 2019

Blea had eye exams outside of the VA system that showed his vision could be corrected to 20/30 in one eye and 20/40 in another. He also had a driver’s license and drove regularly.

Mike Rodolfo Blea, of Northglenn, Colorado, was sentenced Wednesday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Daniel to serve twelve months in prison, followed by three years on supervised release for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of nearly $1.3 million by pretending to be blind. (rclassenlayouts/Getty Images)

DENVER — A Colorado man has been sentenced to a year in prison for defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs out of nearly $1.3 million by pretending to be blind.

Mike Blea, of Northglenn, was sentenced Wednesday and ordered to pay the VA $1,273,180 in restitution.

Investigators say Blea is a Vietnam veteran who started getting VA disability payments in 1969 for visual impairment.

He did have a minor problem with his eyesight but started to exaggerate how bad it was.
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Instead of dismissing your own emotions, honor what you are feeling

Break Pads

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 14, 2019

When you are grieving, sometimes you need to apply the brakes...so that you can #BreakTheSilence of what you are going through. 

Most of the time people do not know what to expect from themselves. You may judge yourself, or expect more from your core.

Instead of dismissing your own emotions, honor what you are feeling so you can being the healing.

If you are angry, then honor it. I yelled at my Dad at the cemetery a few days after his funeral. I chewed out my brother at the funeral home before everyone else got there. I was angry because I wanted them to still be here.

If you are sad, then honor that. They were a part of your life and they still can be in your memories of them. There comes a time when those memories will stop being painful reminders they are gone. The memories become fond ones of times when they were here.

Do not judge yourself or let anyone else judge you for not grieving enough or too much, or taking too long to "get over it" because they did it another way.
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Veterans public suicides undercounted

When will reporters stop skipping other veterans?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 14, 2019

When the article on The Washington Post went viral, most people thought that it was horrible, but they thought it was accurate as well.

February 7, 2019

The parking lot suicides Veterans are taking their own lives on VA hospital campuses, a desperate form of protest against a system that they feel hasn’t helped them.

His death is among 19 suicides that occurred on VA campuses from October 2017 to November 2018, seven of them in parking lots, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

It wasn't.

I contacted the reporter, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and complained that she got it wrong. There were too many missing. She believed what the VA told her, instead of actually doing research to find out how many were missing from their data.

December 17, 2018, I posted how there had been at least 27 veterans committing suicide in very public ways. Most of them were at VA facilities. I use "at least" because they are not all reported in the newspapers or on local news stations. I am sure I missed some.

It is happening again. 

First came the headline about two veterans committing suicide at VA facilities in Georgia.  

Then they added on another veteran who committed suicide in Texas.

What about the other one who committed suicide in Florida?

Brieux Dash hanged himself March 14 at the VA Medical Center in Riviera Beach.
The U.S. Army veteran had a military family by blood and another by marriage. He joined after high school and went twice into combat. And came home with post-traumatic stress syndrome.The Palm Springs man raised a family of three and was able to graduate college. But his demons were gaining on him.

Or this veteran who had been given a ride by Jimmy Johns, which did make national news?

Greg Holeman "Army veteran who served as a mechanic, fatally shot himself inside his pickup truck on the night of February 25, a Platte County Sheriff's Office lieutenant told KETV NewsWatch 7. The 48-year-old was parked outside of the Columbus Community Hospital's emergency department.

Those suicides did not make national news with the others. One more example of how the media forgot it is their job to actually research what they are claiming to be factual.

I find these stories because I care. When will they care enough to get this right? They are also still pushing the "22 a day" slogan instead of investigating what we know. 

To our veterans, you do matter and the deaths of the other veterans who committed suicide in public did it for a reason. While it was the wrong way to fight for the rest of you, that is why they chose to do it in the open where no one could cover it up.

If you want to make a difference for others to, do it the right way!

If your VA is not living up to the needs of veterans in your community, contact the hospital administrator and complain. If that fails, go to the media. 

If your local charity is taking in money but shutting the door on veterans needing help, contact the head of it. If that fails, contact the media.

If you are not getting the help you need, contact the media.

As much as I complain when they get the report wrong, they hold power to put public pressure on what is wrong. Hell, think of it this way. It is one way to make them do their jobs and get something fixed so that you can live to see it happen!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

UPDATE April 18, 2019

In this article,

Legislation to address uptick of veteran suicides at VA facilities
Three veterans took their lives at VA facilities this month.

There is this, which is good.

The legislation would require the VA to notify Congress of any suicide or suicide attempt and the name of the VA facility and location where the event occurred, no later than seven days after it happens. Sixty days after the event, the VA would be required to provide even more information to Congress, including the enrollment status of the veteran, with respect to the patient enrollment system at the VA, and the most recent encounter between the veteran and any employee or facility of the Veterans Health Administration before the suicide or attempted suicide occurred.

And then there is this, which is bad.

Between October 2017 and November 2018, there were 19 suicides on VA campuses -- seven in parking lots -- according to AMVETS.

AMVETS Executive Director Joseph Chenelly said that suicides at VA facilities "appear to be protests of last resort where health care systems, treatment programs, and the underlying cultures of the responsible federal agencies have failed them."

Aside from totally ignoring other veterans committing suicide in public, since they did not happen on VA property. In total we found 27 public suicides in 2018. Among them, there were these suicides on VA property.

John Cochran VA Medical
Phoenix VA Chapel
Topeka VA, VA employee
Misawaka VA
Minneapolis VA
Nashville VA
Bay Pines

Marine faces charges of killing another Marine

Marine shot and killed at Beaufort air station, another Marine in custody

Marine Corps Times
By: Shawn Snow
April 13, 2019

A Marine was shot and killed aboard the Beaufort, South Carolina, Marine air station at 9:30 p.m. Friday, according to Marine officials.

Another Marine is a suspect in the shooting and currently is in custody, according to Lt. Kevin Buss, a spokesman with the Beaufort air station.

The Marine killed in the deadly shooting belonged to Marine Aircraft Group 31, or MAG-31.

The incident is under investigation and the Corps provided no other details.

MAG-31 and the Beaufort air station are also home to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, an F-35B training squadron.
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OEF OIF Veteran killed by crane died saving co-worker

Father of four killed in crane accident at SoHo construction site

PIX 11 News
BY KRISTINE GARCIA AND CRISTIAN BENAVIDES
APRIL 13, 2019

SOHO, Manhattan — A construction worker who was a father of four and war veteran died early Saturday during a crane incident at a Manhattan construction site.

Gregory Echevarria, 34, was found unconscious and unresponsive with severe trauma to his body at a construction site in the vicinity of Varick and Broome streets around 3:15 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The construction crew, that also included Echevarria's brother, was setting up a crane counterweight when it slipped, fatally striking Echevarria, a source told PIX11.

Echevarria's final act was reportedly pushing a coworker out of the way, saving his life.

"He's selfless, that's one thing I can say," family friend Duane Davis told PIX11 Saturday outside Echevarria's childhood home in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

"The best father, son, everything," family member Judi Cruz said of Echevarria.

Family told PIX11 that Echevarria was a father of four, including a three-month-old, and that he was a veteran. Echevarria did four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan over 10 years, according to family members, who are devastated that his baby boy is left without a father.
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