Marine deserted during Vietnam

Man charged with desertion during Vietnam

Marines contacted authorities in Florida, where man was serving probation

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - A man serving probation in a fraud case has been charged with deserting the Marine Corps 40 years ago to avoid being sent to Vietnam, police said.

Jerry Texiero left his unit in California in 1965 at age 24, police said. He was arrested Tuesday in Pinellas County and charged with desertion.

Texiero, now 64, had been living under an assumed name, Gerome Conti, since at least the mid-1980s, Sgt. Jeff Young said.

As Conti, Texiero had been serving 20 years’ probation after pleading no contest to charges that he defrauded the owners of classic cars he sold in the mid-1990s from a Clearwater lot, officials said.

The Marine Corps contacted his probation officer Tuesday and said Conti’s fingerprints matched those of a deserter who fled Camp Pendleton 40 years ago, Young said.

It was not known how the Marines learned Texiero’s whereabouts. A message left for a spokesman early Wednesday was not immediately returned.

Texiero initially denied the charge when questioned Tuesday, but after being shown a photograph of himself in his 20s, told detectives he deserted to avoid being sent to Vietnam, Young said.

Texiero, who also faces state charges of violating probation and possessing a fraudulent driver’s license, was being held without bond at Pinellas County Jail. A message left early Wednesday for his attorney, Paul Studer, was not immediately returned.

[ArchAngel]

Piece of crap deserves it!

[SpongeJuan]

How can a man go 40 years and then someone out of the blue says, "Hey, I think we should find him again."

[Curt]

Throw away the key

[AmericanGirl]

How can a man go 40 years and then someone out of the blue says, "Hey, I think we should find him again."

- spongejuan

Simple, 30 years ago we didn't have computers like we do know... the information superhighway has made finding elusive people much easier. They did a random fingerprint match an found him... just wasn't his lucky day!

What freaks me out is I filled out a thing for Marlboro to verify who I said I was, and they listed a bunch of addresses and asked which place I hadn't lived, and they had an address for me from 14 years ago

[Ram0528]

When i was doing collections for NFCU, i had found a member that was delinquent on their credit card account, as luck would have it she was also AWOL. I tracked her down & even spoke to her.... Well, i called her unit & all they said was that they weren't gonna worry about it. Even after i told them i knew where she was & would give 'em the info.

[SpongeJuan]

how did they get your address from 14 years ago?

[AmericanGirl]

I imagine they ran my credit report from off my social security number