Some Thoughts On The Louisville VA Scandal

I've tumbled around for about eight hours whether or not I should express what I feel about the Louisville VA scandal, but part of what bothers me is that it hasn't been picked up for national distribution by the news. (I somehow have a hunch that if George W. Bush were still President that this would somehow be the lead story - and somewhere in that story we'd be told it was his fault). But since a lot of people haven't heard about it let me spell out what happened and then react.

When a veteran reaches the end of his military service he is evaluated and given a disability rating. That rating may be from 0% all the way to 100%. Over the years if his health deteriorates as a consequence of his disabilities then his rating is increased and he receives a monthly check. Tax free. For the rest of his life. If you are rejected then you may appeal. When you win an appeal then you are paid a lump sum cash payment that dates back to the day you got out of the military. I know of one case where a friend of mine who was legally blind before his career ended fought for fifteen years and - finally - got a lump sum of over $100,000 plus a 100% DAV rating. And he deserves it because he cannot work at all due to his blindness.

Keep that in mind as I tell you what unfolded. (You can read the initial news report here).

In 2003, the supervisor at the DAV in Louisville, Ryan Parker, concocted a scheme with Jeffrey McGill, to falsify veteran claims. When the vets received their lump sums they gave back 2/3 of it to Parker and McGill. So, for example, if you were given a back dated check of $30,000, you kept $10K and gave the other $20K to Parker and McGill. They first tried this scheme by saying that Parker's girlfriend, Nicolette Wages, had bipolar disorder. She received a check for $46,000 that was split three ways. Eventually this scheme became so widespread that Parker's family including his mother - who never spent a day in the military - pocketed about $2 million.

You read that correctly - $2 million.

Unfortunately for them and for all 14 involved in this case, the feds found out about it and now some of them will get to turn over their paychecks to the federal government for the rest of their lives or at least until they pay all the money back. Of course, it's going to pretty hard to get a job during this recession - especially when the background check shows you've done time in the Iron Hotel as many of them will.

Two million dollars while troops suffering real injuries are having to fight through appeal after appeal just to get the funds they need to survive.

Why does this bother me? Because I was stationed with one of these crooks at Little Rock Air Force Base from 1993-1995. And it not only angers me it shocks me that this person would get involved with something like this.

HOW DOES ONE REACT TO THIS?

I've done a lot of soul searching ever since the day I read about the indictments - which just happened to be Thanksgiving Day of 2008. I was home alone after working the morning shift while the family was over in Mississippi having turkey and dressing and watching the Egg Bowl. When I read it that evening my mouth dropped to the floor. I wanted so much to simply not believe that it was true. But in light of the guilty pleas and the pathetic attempt that one Marine made before throwing up the white flag, I cannot conclude anything other than all of those charged were - in legal parlance - guilty as Hell.

The American veteran is the man (or woman) who makes it possible for you to sleep at night without fear of daily terrorist attacks. The American veteran goes away from his family for months - sometimes longer than a year - at a time when duty calls so that you can drive your nice cars, work in your nice offices, and even express a minority opinion that would result in your decapitation in some Third World countries. He protects your right to be wrong, your right to disagree, your right to vote, and your right to do just about anything else you have the right to do. The Constitution is little more than a piece of paper without the American soldier holding the bayonet to guard the shore from foreign invasion (or in these modern times flying the F-15 to prevent enemy planes from launching missiles into downtown Atlanta.

It's John McCain enduring five-and-a-half-years in the Hanoi Hilton and getting his arms so twisted and broken that they are not aligned. It's Jeremiah Denton blinking torture in Morse code while spending eight years as a POW. It's the late James Stockdale, whom people laughed at in the 1992 Vice-Presidential debate when he said he didn't have his hearing aid turned on. Never mind that the only reason he needed it was because the Viet Cong had rammed rods into his ears and tortured him.

It's lesser known people. It's my father, whose barracks was blown up with the epicenter in the room next to him in 1971 - and who spent four hours under the bed fearful to come out because he didn't know if his barracks had been overrun by VietCong who were forcing his comrades to call him out by name. It's Zane May, also a fellow Little Rock veteran, who didn't come from a deployment to Oman because he drowned in a flash flood. Zane May worked in the same hospital as the convicted felon and I. It's the less famous people on the infamous Ron Brown plane - people like Ashley Davis, Cheryl Turnage, and Shelly Kelly - none of whom anybody other than their friends even remembers.

Given all that is done and has been done to keep the nation safe - only 1 successful terrorist attack in 225 years - how could these 'brothers in arms' have done this? What possesses a person to do something like this? And how in the world can such a person even have a conscience?

Keep in mind that NONE of these people - so far as we know - turned themselves in. It was either noticed by a discrepancy between Dean Toth's hearing tests (perfect for Southwest Airlines vs. deaf as a post at the Louisville VA) or by an unnamed informant. We are told that Ryan Parker trembled and cried before the jury. Well a LOT OF PEOPLE tremble and cry before the judge when they're going off to a federal pound-me-in-the-backside prison. Was he really remorseful or - like Judas Iscariot (now there's a fitting analogy) - was he only sorry he got caught (cf. Matthew 27:5)? His mother had the gall to ask for a reduced sentence because she was brought into by him. ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THE GUY'S OWN MOTHER DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS WRONG? Was she that desperate for money?

Keep in mind what I said earlier - had this not been discovered then the veterans involved would have drawn tax-free paychecks for the rest of their lives. Not only that but they would have had VA access (fortunately the VA has too many doctors and very few patients - sarcasm intended) but if their disability rating is 70% or higher then: a) Social Security kicks in about another $1K per month; and b) their families get medical coverage at the VA as well. Think about that: $42,000 tax free and no need to buy health insurance. This at a time when the MEDIAN income in America is less than $28,000 (which is taxed).

Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

I have a hard time swallowing the remorse stories. I have no doubt that some of them were probably troubled in conscience a bit. But they were never troubled enough to turn themselves in and try to gain immunity in exchange for shutting down the racket, were they? And it's clear that they never thought they would get caught or else they wouldn't have done it.

So how do I feel? Well, the death penalty would be too lenient as well as inappropriate. I think they should be re-enlisted in the armed services. Back-date the paperwork. And then granted a dishonorable discharge through a court-martial. Well, ok, that's not going to happen.

People in this country will forgive a lot of things. Baseball players who used steroids (just so long as they admit it), Presidents who lie under oath, and even convicted murderers like Karla Faye Tucker. (There are even some who forgive Mike Vick so long as he doesn't do it again). But there are two sins that much of society deems completely unforgivable. The first is child abuse. The second is taking money out of the hands of the helpless and keeping it yourself when you did nothing to earn it.

My only advice for the convicted felons in this case is to open their Bibles and really - not just so you can get out of jail - really find the biblical Jesus. If you don't then prison is going to seem a picnic compared to your after-life. Oh and one other thing - just because the biblical God will forgive you does not translate into society ever forgetting what you did. You spit on the grave of some great Americans, you disgraced yourself, you disgraced your parents, you disgraced your military branch of service - and most of all you disgraced this country.

I wonder how your kids feel right now?

UPDATED: 11 DECEMBER 2010

I received a couple of comments stating that the link in this story no longer works. So try the following instead:

From the VA Watchdog Website

Also From The VA Watchdog Site - A Retired Marine Changes His Plea
(This one spells out the government's case pretty good).

FBI Press Release For Latter Sentencing

Washington Post From 2009 Shows How There Are Missing Checks and Balances