========================================================================
May 08, 2007
Marine
major phony John A. Eastman was finally sentenced, after pleading
not guilty back in Dec. 2005. He was convicted of the
same thing back in 1979 in federal court.
=======================================================
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07125/783572-57.stm
Man
sentenced to probation for impersonating Marine officer
Saturday,
May 05, 2007
By
Paula Reed Ward,
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
John
Eastman was convicted in federal court of impersonating a U.S.
Marine Corps major in 1979. He was sentenced to serve one year
probation.
Yesterday,
he pleaded guilty to the exact same charge -- and received two
years probation.
Mr.
Eastman, 59, of New Galilee, Beaver County, admitted that he wore
a gold oak leaf to a November 2004 Allegheny County Marine Corps
Association luncheon and introduced himself as a retired major.
According
to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman, Mr. Eastman created
his own Web site in an attempt to get jobs as a motivational
speaker. On the site, he said he'd served numerous tours of duty
in
Vietnam
. He claimed that he was known by the Viet Cong as "The
Terminator," and that they placed a $25,000 bounty on him.
"Experience
this fascinating history by engaging this decorated Marine to
speak before your group," Mr. Eastman wrote on his site.
"A trained speaker and motivator, he will leave you wanting
more, as you encounter this far-away land,
Vietnam
."
However,
according to military records, Mr. Kaufman said, Mr. Eastman
enlisted in the Marines in June 1965. He received an honorable
discharge -- as a private -- in March 1966 after an injury in a
car accident.
Despite
the stories on his Web site, he was never in
Vietnam
.
Mr.
Eastman apologized to the court for his behavior, saying that he
only did it because he had been laid off at the time and needed to
earn money for his family.
"I'd
just like to get on with my life," he said. "What I have
done is not in line with the life I have lived."
But
then Mr. Kaufman revealed Mr. Eastman's previous conviction.
U.S.
District Judge Gary L. Lancaster, who also ordered the defendant
to pay a $500 fine, did not acknowledge the previous case when he
sentenced Mr. Eastman.
============================================
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/cityregion/s_506178.html
Beaver
Co. man convicted of impersonating Marine
By
Jason Cato
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday,
May 5, 2007
John
A. Eastman claimed he got his "Terminator" nickname from
the Viet Cong, who put a $25,000 bounty on his head.
The
Beaver
County
man touted amazing exploits on his Web site --
SilentWarriorHeart.com -- that included a career on the NFL
gridiron and the
Hollywood
silver screen.
None
of that jibed with reality.
A
federal judge on Friday convicted Eastman, 59, of New Galilee, of
illegally impersonating a Marine Corps officer for the second time
in 30 years.
In
1978, his transgression brought a punishment of one year on
probation. U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster yesterday doubled
that penalty after Eastman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge
for falsely wearing an oak leaf cluster and claiming to be a major
at a 2004 Allegheny County Marine Corps Association function in
the Strip District.
Eastman
was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $500
fine.
"If
anything, I'm guilty of stupidity," Eastman told the judge.
"What I've done is not in line with the life I'd like to
live."
In
addition to the outlandish claims, Eastman's former Web site said
he wasn't born a warrior but that "the United States Marine
Corps trained him to act, think and be a silent warrior." It
stated that Eastman grew up with an identity complex.
Before
taking his wife's last name, Eastman, he was known as John
Gasparovic. He enlisted in the Marines in 1965 when he was 17 and
graduated boot camp at
Parris Island
,
S.C.
, but never made it to
Vietnam
. He was medically discharged in March 1966 after a car accident.
Assistant
U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said Eastman told FBI agents that he
invented his heroic past to bolster a fledgling speaking career.
"Who
would want to listen to me, a nobody?" Kaufman said Eastman
asked the agents.
Eastman
is the second person in the past two years to be convicted in
Pittsburgh
's U.S. District Court of impersonating a Marine Corps officer.
Albert
McKelvey, 69, of
Richland
, was fined $2,500 in April 2006 after he faked being a Marine
colonel at numerous functions in the area, which included him
wearing full dress blues to present folded flags to widows at
funerals and giving speeches to veterans groups.
Jason
Cato can be reached at jcato@tribweb.com or 412-320-7840.
================================================
Phony war hero gets probation
By: Bill Vidonic, Times Staff
05/04/2007
PITTSBURGH - Caught up in the collapse of the information technology
industry several years ago, his savings dried up, John A. Eastman
wanted to earn money by becoming a motivational speaker.
"Who's going to listen to me, a nobody?" Eastman told
investigators, so he created a persona of a Marine colonel who, after
several tours of duty in Vietnam, was known to the Viet Cong as
"The Terminator," and had a $25,000 bounty on his head. He
also claimed to be a former National Football League player - all of
it a lie.
Friday, the barrel-chested Eastman, 59, of New Galilee, stood before
U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster, apologizing that his lies had
brought shame and stress to him and his family.
"I'd like to just get on with my life," Eastman said.
He added that he is willing to apologize in person to U.S. Marine
Corps representatives.
After Eastman pleaded guilty to a single count of impersonating a
Marine officer, Lancaster sentenced him to two years' probation and
levied a $500 fine.
According to prosecuting Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman
and defense attorney Linda E. J. Cohn, Eastman was born John D.
Gasparovic. He joined the Marines in June 1965 when he was 17 years
old. He received an honorable discharge on March 25, 1966, after he
suffered injuries in a car accident not related to his military
service. He was still ranked a private,
and never left the United States the entire time he was in the
service.
Cohn said that when Eastman married his wife, he took her last name.
It was unclear when they married.
Several years ago, Eastman lost his consulting job and found himself
struggling to support his family, so he created a Web site to market
himself as a war hero.
The Web site no longer exists, and Eastman said he has now gotten
himself back on his feet. He is now working as a software application
salesman, according to court records,
"He feels badly if he has offended anyone," Cohn said.
Eastman has also written a novel that is to be published soon, Cohn
said, but she did not say what the novel was about.
Kaufman surprised courtroom observers by saying that in 1978, Eastman
was convicted for impersonating a Marine colonel and was sentenced to
one year's probation for that offense. Kaufman did not provide
additional information about that conviction.
Eastman declined comment after his sentencing.
Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2007