Daniel Gordon, Rhode Island State Rep., Lied About Military Service After Arrest
The Huffington Post First Posted: 9/23/11 05:27 PM ET Updated: 9/23/11 05:37 PM ET
Rhode Island state Rep. Daniel Gordon (R) was arrested Sunday and charged with driving on a suspended license, according to the Providence Journal. That arrest exposed Gordon's criminal record in Massachusetts and alerted police to an outstanding warrant he had there in connection with a 2008 police chase.
After House Republicans said Gordon should resign, Middletown Patch reported, the state representative said his problems stemmed from PTSD-fueled alcoholism, a product of his service in the Gulf War. He also claimed he was injured by shrapnel in Baghdad.
Not so much.
The AP obtained Gordon's military records and discovered that he had never been near a battlefield while serving as a military aircraft technician. Records show he never received the Purple Heart -- an award typically given to any service member wounded in a war zone, unless the injury was caused by an accident or friendly fire -- contradicting his claims about being injured in Baghdad.
This latest arrest adds to Gordon's extensive criminal record. He previously spent more than five months locked up on charges of attempted murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and for a assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend.
WATCH WPRI's report on Gordon:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/daniel-gordon-military-service_n_978364.html
The Huffington Post First Posted: 9/23/11 05:27 PM ET Updated: 9/23/11 05:37 PM ET
Rhode Island state Rep. Daniel Gordon (R) was arrested Sunday and charged with driving on a suspended license, according to the Providence Journal. That arrest exposed Gordon's criminal record in Massachusetts and alerted police to an outstanding warrant he had there in connection with a 2008 police chase.
After House Republicans said Gordon should resign, Middletown Patch reported, the state representative said his problems stemmed from PTSD-fueled alcoholism, a product of his service in the Gulf War. He also claimed he was injured by shrapnel in Baghdad.
Not so much.
The AP obtained Gordon's military records and discovered that he had never been near a battlefield while serving as a military aircraft technician. Records show he never received the Purple Heart -- an award typically given to any service member wounded in a war zone, unless the injury was caused by an accident or friendly fire -- contradicting his claims about being injured in Baghdad.
This latest arrest adds to Gordon's extensive criminal record. He previously spent more than five months locked up on charges of attempted murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and for a assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend.
WATCH WPRI's report on Gordon:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/daniel-gordon-military-service_n_978364.html
