Fairport vet admits to lying about PTSD to claim $92K in VA benefits
WHAM October 24, 2018
FILE - In this June 21, 2013, file photo, the seal affixed to the front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington. A veteran from Fairport pleaded guilty to lying about suicides he says he witnessed overseas in order to claim disability benefits and claim tens of thousands of dollars. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
A veteran from Fairport pleaded guilty to lying about suicides he says he witnessed overseas in order to claim disability benefits and claim tens of thousands of dollars.
Michael Pecka, 33, filed a claim for VA Disability Benefits in 2011 claiming that he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from witnessing the suicide of two fellow soldiers while deployed to Kuwait in 2004-2005 with the Army Reserve.
But investigators with the Department of Veterans Affairs determined that Pecka "lied about being present for either suicide, lied about observing either suicide, lied about being involved in the investigation of either suicide, and in the case of one of the soldiers, was not even in the same country at the time he committed suicide," according to the office of U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. read more here
Army veteran won't be renting from Phoenix landlord after a President Trump rant
NBC 12 News Author: Mike Gonzalez October 24, 2018
The landlord at first told her he was not accepting anyone receiving government payments because he was afraid Trump's proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico would threaten those payments. He has since said he regrets the exchange.
PHOENIX — When Alyssa Gillaspy and her wife reached out to try to rent a house near 89th Avenue and McDowell Road in West Phoenix, she was shocked at the email messages she received from landlord Gary Faulkinbury.
Faulkinbury apparently told her he was not accepting anyone receiving government payments because of President Trump.
“When we inquired on the home and got that back, it was very shocking," said Gillaspy, who is receiving benefits for her post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq.
One of the emails to Gillaspy reads in part: "You stupid [expletive]. It’s called qualification. Trump is causing this not me. Get a job because he’s cutting your benefits and there’s nothing you can do," said Faulkinbury.
Team 12's Mike Gonzalez talked to Gillaspy via Skype from her Olympia, Washington, home.
She was still trying to figure out why the landlord had such a fear that President Trump would pull funding from veterans. Faulkinbury was apparently upset the president is threatening to build a wall on the Mexican border, in turn putting her disability benefits at risk. read more here
Just like muscles ache after an intense workout, Turner’s understanding of normalcy had crashed along with his marriage, and after such a harrowing tour overseas, his mind ached as he struggled to adapt to a life that was once routine but within the span of just one year had become so foreign.
Not often can people say their stories have received the Hollywood treatment, but for former U.S. Army Chaplain Darren Turner, that’s exactly what’s happened.
The decorated Iraq War veteran and his family are the subjects of the forthcoming movie, “Indivisible,” which chronicles Turner’s journey home from war, when he was forced to combat the emotional hardships threatening his marriage.
“It still is — and probably always will be — weird,” Turner told Faithwire, explaining how “surreal” it is to see his life’s experiences recreated on the silver screen.
Turner and his wife, Heather, had been married for about three years and were confident they wanted to go into ministry, but they just didn’t know where they were supposed to serve. Not long after they started looking at their options, Heather reconnected with an old college friend who’d married an Army chaplain. read more here
Ex-Nassau County firefighter wanted for DUI in wife's death found dead
News4Jax By Ashley Spicer - Reporter, anchor October 23, 2018
CALLAHAN, Fla. - A 48-year-old Navy veteran and retired Nassau County Fire-Rescue lieutenant wanted on a DUI manslaughter warrant connected to the death of his wife was found dead Tuesday afternoon, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said.
The Florida Highway Patrol issued an arrest warrant last week for Curtis Bollinger, and he retired from the Nassau County Fire Department two days later. The Nassau County Sheriff's Office hadn't been able to locate him but got a call that his car had been seen at a cemetery at Live Oak Baptist Church in Callahan.
When deputies responded about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, they found Bollinger dead inside the car from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bollinger and his wife, 29-year-old Shannon Bollinger, were in a motorcycle crash at 1 a.m. April 15 on State Road 200 in Callahan. Curtis Bollinger drove into the median and his Harley Davidson overturned. Both were thrown from the bike. Shannon Bollinger landed in the roadway and was killed when she was hit by another car. read more here
New Bedford veteran overcame his troubles and now helps other veterans
Sun Coast Today Curt Brown October 23, 2018
Azevedo was deployed to Desert Storm with the U.S. Navy from 1988 to 1991 and was with the Naval Reserve until 1993 and received an honorable discharge in 1994. He worked as a corrections officer and then became a member of the New Bedford Fire Department, after leaving the Navy.
But then 9/11 happened and Azevedo had a change of heart after the terrorist attacks. He remembers hearing the sound of fighter jets over his deck flying from Cape Cod hours after the attacks, he said.
NEW BEDFORD — A New Bedford veteran, who is devoting his life to helping others after suffering a combat-related brain injury in Iraq, is this year’s Southeastern Massachusetts Veteran of the Year.
Christopher E. Azevedo, 48, who also recently retired from the New Bedford Fire Department, was unanimously selected by the Board of Directors of the Veterans Transition House for the honor, according to Wayne Carvalho, chairman of the board. “We all feel he epitomizes what struggle is for veterans and the ability to give back,” Carvalho said.
Azevedo will receive the award at a luncheon at Rachel’s Lakeside, 950 State Road, Dartmouth, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 8.
He said he does not help others for the recognition and was floored when he received a phone call from board member Linda Silveira, informing him he was selected as this year’s Veteran of the Year. He was nominated last year, did not receive it and never thought he would be nominated again, let alone receive it.
During his deployment, he survived numerous attacks, but in one direct hit to his vehicle from an IED, he suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as damage to his spine and chest, he said.
Azevedo suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, which he still battles today, and was overprescribed meds and became addicted to painkillers, he said. He won that battle, too, and has been free of painkillers for five years now and alcohol-free for three years. read more here
