Wall Street Trader who re-enlisted as a Marine after 911 cleared of criminal wrong doing
May 26 - A Marine Corps officer accused of murdering two Iraqis suspected of being insurgents last year was cleared of criminal wrongdoing Thursday, by the same two-star general who ordered a formal inquiry into the matter.
Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, commander of the Second Marine Division, found that evidence presented at a hearing last month did not support accusations of premeditated murder against Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, a Manhattan native who now holds a training position at Camp Lejeune, N.C., a Marine Corps spokesman said.
General Huck's decision closes a case that has drawn criticism of the Marine Corps from members of veterans groups and other supporters of the officer, who say a marine in a combat situation should never have to defend a decision to shoot people he perceives to be enemies.
The spokesman said the finding was based on recommendations sent to General Huck after a hearing last month and on results of autopsies conducted last week at Dover Air Force Base on the exhumed bodies of the two men.
The autopsy results were not available at the hearing.
"The initial findings did not support the allegations that Second Lieutenant Pantano committed premeditated murder," the spokesman, Second Lt. Barry Edwards, said of the autopsy. "The initial findings corroborated Second Lieutenant Pantano's version of the events." Lieutenant Edwards would not elaborate further on the autopsy results.
Lieutenant Pantano has gained something of a celebrity status since February, when the accusations were made public through a Web site maintained by his mother, Merry Pantano, www.defendthedefenders.org. a Manhattan literary agent. He said in a statement Thursday: "My family and I are grateful to our community in Wilmington, to our friends, our families and to all of the Americans that have stood up to be counted when the chips were down. I am grateful to the marines I served beside in combat whose swift and sound decisions insured that so many of us came home - even as they now prepare to return to Iraq. As we approach this Memorial Day, thankful for so much, we will not forget those that have gone before and the families who have given the ultimate sacrifice."
Ms. Pantano said: "It's the second most important day in my life. The first was the day he was born."
Lieutenant Pantano served in the Marines in the Persian Gulf war of 1991. He later worked as a trader at Goldman Sachs, rejoining the Marines after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The killings occurred on April 15, 2004, near Mahmudiyah, as Lieutenant Pantano led a platoon to search a house suspected of being an insurgent lair. When the marines approached, two men left in a white sedan, according to testimony at the hearing, but were stopped on Lieutenant Pantano's order. No weapons were found on the men, who were handcuffed as a Navy corpsman checked their car for weapons. When he was told that weapons and other contraband were found inside the house, Lieutenant Pantano ordered the men unhandcuffed and then directed them to search their car themselves.
Lieutenant Pantano supervised while the corpsman, George Gobles, and a Marine sergeant, Daniel Coburn, stood facing away as sentries. Lieutenant Pantano said that the men made a threatening move toward him after repeatedly talking with each other in Arabic and that he fired, emptying his M-16 rifle's magazine. He reloaded and emptied the second one, a total of as many as 50 bullets.
He acknowledged placing a hand-scrawled cardboard sign reading "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" atop the car, against which the bodies lay. The sign and the number of rounds fired, according to lieutenant Pantano's statement, were meant to send a message to other Iraqis about what happens to those who join insurgents.
The sign and its placement resulted in a formal accusation of desecration, in addition to the two accusations of premeditated murder.
The officer who conducted last month's hearing, Col. Mark E. Winn, recommended in a report to General Huck that criminal charges were not warranted, but sharply criticized Lieutenant Pantano's decision to have the car stopped and to focus so closely on the two men to begin with. Colonel Winn recommended nonjudicial discipline, because the sign and the number of rounds fired were in his opinion unwarranted and excessive. Lieutenant Edwards said, however, that General Huck would not issue any nonjudicial punishment.
The hearing, Marine Corps officials said, is the military's method for assessing whether formal charges and ensuing courts-martial are warranted. The decision to prosecute or not prosecute rests with the officer who convened the hearing, once his investigating officer has assessed evidence and filed a report.
Lieutenant Edwards said that the military justice process served both Lieutenant Pantano and the Marines well.
"No military lawyer is jumping up and down ready to pound somebody," Lieutenant Edwards said when asked about the role prosecutors played in pushing the case forward. "It is part of the process."
Free Lt. Pantano
By Dave Gibson (02/16/05)
Marine Lt. Ilario Pantano is being charged with the murder of two Iraqis. He is facing an Article 32 hearing, if found guilty--he could receive the death penalty.
The incident occurred on April 15, 2004. Pantano was leading his platoon on a search for weapons and terrorists, to a suspected hide-out near Baghdad. The search yielded several weapons, ammunition, as well bomb-making materials. During the search, two Iraqis ran out of the building and attempted to speed away from the scene in their truck.
The Iraqi vehicle was stopped. Lt. Pantano instructed the men to pull everything out of the truck, as bombs and booby-traps were suspected. The men began to act nervously and tried to run away. Pantano ordered them both to stop (in Arabic), they refused and he shot them.
Lt. Pantano's commanders conducted an investigation, which subsequently cleared him of any wrong-doing. He continued to serve out his tour of duty, then returned to the United States to Camp Lejeune. It was not until an as yet to be named enlisted man, filed a complaint against Lt. Pantano that an eyebrow was raised over the April 2004 combat incident. The enlisted man filed the complaint several months after the shootings took place.
This is a war? Right?
A little background on Lt. Pantano is necessary. He joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17. He is a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia (1992). He left the Marines to attend New York University. After graduation, he went to work as a trader for Goldman Sachs. By 2000, Pantano was living in Manhattan and running his own company. In his spare time, he helped deliver food to some of New York's many homeless shelters.
By all accounts, the 9/11 attacks profoundly changed Pantano. Living and working around the smoldering ruins, which were once the World Trade Center, affected him deeply. The blow dealt to this nation by Islamic terrorists, moved Pantano (then 32) to re-enlist in the Marine Corps.
In 2004, he went to Iraq and fought with the Second Marine Division. He is a veteran of the bloody battle for Fallujah.
This young man is the very epitome of the "all-American kid." He is the type of person that any parent would be proud to call "son." He is also the type of man that this nation needs in this time of war. Yet, now he sits awaiting a trial which could very well end in his untimely death. Something is incredibly wrong with this nation's leadership.
Lt. Pantano killed two suspected Iraqi terrorists. So what? Our men are being blown to bits everyday in Iraq. THIS IS A WAR! Whether or not the two Iraqis were in fact terrorists will probably never be known. It does not matter. They were in the vicinity of a known terrorist hide-out and attempted to flee. Pantano gave them a chance to stop (even speaking to them in their own language). Just as the intentions of the two suspected terrorists will never be known, it will also never be known if Pantano's actions potentially saved the lives of several American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. However, that fact seems to be lost on our so-called "leaders."
Lt. Pantano has secured civilian attorney Charles Gittins. Gittins recently made this statement about his client: "Even if he's wrong, accidents happen in combat. This was a very stressful situation. These two guys are bad guys...He said 'stop' and they didn't and he said it in Arabic."
Lt. Pantano's mom (Merry Pantano) recently said of the charges: "Isn't it amazing? He can face the death penalty for doing his job on the battlefield, making split-second decisions."
Merry Pantano has set up a website to help defend not only her son, but other soldiers who have been wrongly accused of crimes, while serving their country. The site is www.defendthedefenders.org. She makes a statement on this website that will hopefully send shivers down the spines (if they have one) of every politician in Washington. Ms. Pantano proclaims: " I won't sit idly by while his reputation, honor, and sacrifices are diminished by bureaucrats squeamish with the sight of blood, while our country is at war."
Well said Ms. Pantano...well said!
The fact is, we are at war. Whether or not the left-wing media, or the ACLU, or even the Pentagon understands that...we are at war. War is often bloody and unfair. Both soldiers and civilians are killed. Lt. Pantano is a stand-up citizen and a tough Marine. What would we do without his kind? Who would then defend this nation?
We cannot continue to second-guess every shot fired by an American soldier. They are living and working in a combat zone. Do you think that this incident would have even been given a moment's consideration during WWII?
I would urge everyone to contact your Congressman and Senators. Call the White House, and the Pentagon. Shout it from the rooftops! We need to demand the release and dismissal of these politically-correct charges against the brave Lt. Pantano.
Please join in the support for Lt. Ilario Pantano!
May God Bless our warriors!