|
An Imposter Fools the Military, Some Fine Social Engineering
Military Imposter Fools Coast Guard
Newsday, Long Island
By Joe Haberstroh
Staff Writer
Oak leaf clusters glistening from his lapels and a dress-red cravat
neatly knotted around his neck, the U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant
colonel cut an impressive figure as he directed helicopter landings
last weekend at the Flight 800 command center at the U.S. Coast Guard
station in East Moriches.
Except that no one knew who he was, or why he was there.
Eventually, ``Lt. Col. Williams'' -- as he identified himself -- was
led away by Suffolk police last Saturday afternoon. But for 2 1/2 days
after he first appeared at the East Moriches Fire Department and asked
to be whisked to the nearby Flight 800 crash command center, the
apparent impostor had them all fooled.
When East Moriches Fire Chief Evan Goldstein drove the would-be
officer to the command center, Goldstein said, he was stopped by a
police officer at a checkpoint. As Goldstein began to identify
himself, the mystery man beside him reached across the car to flash a
pair of official-looking identification cards. ``He said, `Let's cut
the ---- and go in,''' said Goldstein, ``and they waved us right in.''
The man's professional manner and his green, U.S. Army Reserve flight
suit with its leather name patch made a good impression.
``He looked good,'' one military source said. ``He had the get-up, the
whole nine yards, and he seemed to know what he was talking about.''
But the man's uniform also became his undoing, because the U.S. Army
Reserve has not been activated for duty during the operation at the
Coast Guard station.
On Saturday, a group of officials approached the man, a source said.
``We don't know who you are,'' said the source, who then watched as
Suffolk officers quietly escorted the man from the base.
Suffolk police, who do not have jurisdiction at the Coast Guard
Station, did not arrest the man but only escorted him off the federal
property. A Coast Guard spokesman would not comment when asked why the
man was not detained.
After the incident, Suffolk officers were reminded of the proper
identification required to pass a checkpoint in East Moriches.
A check with nearby U.S. Army Reserve Units in Bayside, Queens, and in
Edison, N.J., revealed that neither had a Lt. Col. Williams on their
personnel rosters.
Steve Wick contributed to this story
|
|
