Posted on 02/15/2004 11:12:59 AM PST by nuconvert
Feb 15, 2004
Police: Man Believed to Be Target of Cruel Prankster Admits Faking Story About Wife's Death The Associated Press
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - A man believed to have been the victim of a cruel prankster who told him his wife had been killed in Iraq has admitted concocting the story and was arrested Sunday, authorities said. Edward Valentin, whose wife Betsy is an Army Reserve sergeant, was charged with making a false statement to police, falsely reporting an incident concerning a death and harassment, Police Chief Neil O'Leary said.
Valentin was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail, and arraignment was set for Monday.
"As far as why he did it, there's no clear answer," O'Leary said. "He claimed he did it because he has been struggling with three children. And if everyone felt sorry for him, including the military, they'd send Betsy home."
O'Leary said investigators also discovered that Valentin had been trying to date another woman, who was not interested in dating a married man.
Valentin told reporters that he received a call Wednesday from someone identifying himself as a colonel at the Department of Defense. The caller, he said, told him his wife had been killed in an explosion.
On Thursday, however, he received a call from his wife. There had been no explosion and no injuries. That led investigators to believe there had been a hoax.
Police said Saturday that Valentin admitted making up the story.
Valentin's story began to fall apart when a reporter for The Republican-American of Waterbury, who had previously interviewed Betsy Valentin, e-mailed her in Iraq. Hours later, she returned the e-mail and called her husband.
It was unclear Sunday whether Betsy Valentin knew her husband had been arrested. Maj. John Whitford of the Army National Guard said that the news would be passed through the chain of command.
He was also having his period.
What a piece of work! He can't cheat on his wife, so he'd might as well concoct a sob-story, in an effort to get her sent home.
It's plain to see who has the penis in that marriage.
Obviously he wasn't missing his wife that much. So why did he want her home?
I have the feeling that she was much safer in Iraq.
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
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