Florida Phony Navy SEAL Allegedly At It Again

Once-alleged Phony SEAL Allegedly At It Again
Nov 27, 2012
The Virginian-Pilot
by Bill Sizemore

In a Norfolk, Va., courtroom in 2002, Robert Anthony Nolan was sentenced to two years in federal prison for lying to the FBI after being accused of posing as a Navy SEAL.

A website dedicated to exposing fake SEALs had given him a five-star rating on its "Wall of Shame," its most ignoble designation, meaning the "claimant is 'incorrigible' and continues to make claims despite proof that his claims are not supported by government records."

At sentencing, Nolan promised to turn his life around once he was released.

A decade later, the Virginia Beach man says he has been as good as his word.

Curt Ruggles begs to differ.

Ruggles, a semi-retired mechanic in Florida, says Nolan has been at it again, spinning a richly detailed and believable yarn about his SEAL past.

He was so taken in, Ruggles says, that he spent months working on an experimental aircraft that Nolan hoped to sell to the Navy for use by its SEAL commando teams.

The two ultimately had a falling-out over the pace and cost of the work, and the test aircraft now sits grounded in a hangar at a Florida airport, its key components disabled by Ruggles -- a precautionary measure, he says, because the craft isn't safe to fly yet.

Nolan calls it an act of sabotage fueled by vengeance. He reported it to the local sheriff's department, which later sent an investigator to question Ruggles.

Only then did Ruggles resort to an Internet search to learn more about his erstwhile business associate. He was shocked, amazed and angered to discover Nolan's history as an alleged SEAL poseur.

The details differ from case to case, but the overall story line is familiar. As the home to half of the Navy's elite sea-air-land commandos, Hampton Roads is replete with SEAL wannabes. Dozens have been outed over the years -- and if anything they are popping up more frequently since a Virginia Beach-based SEAL team killed Osama bin Laden last year, according to Don Shipley, a retired SEAL in Chesapeake who helps expose fakes.

"They're coming out of the woodwork," Shipley said. "It seems to be getting worse. And they're going to greater lengths than harmless barroom boasting."
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