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Three years ago, I was leading Marines in Fallujah. Two years ago, with lawyers that many of you helped pay for, I walked into a courtroom at Camp Lejeune to face off against prosecutors in a fight for my life. Today, I am back in the fight, and ask for your help in defending a team of true American heroes. Drawn from the elite ranks of “Force Recon,” the hand-picked men of Marine Special Operations (MARSOC) are literally the best of the best, and instead of being honored they are being investigated for simply doing their job. Our commandos became...

An Honest Investigation Would Have Cleared Lieutenant Pantano in Iraq (and Other Lessons for the Haditha Hearings)Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano was an outstanding Marine officer who did his job, including the hard business of killing the enemy, very well. And then the government told him that he was a murderer. On February 1, 2005, he was charged with premeditated murder and a host of other charges including dereliction of duty and damaging a terrorist’s car. Not a single charge should have been made. The lieutenant had shot and killed two detainees after they made a hostile move toward him. Lieutenant...

Ilario Pantano's third tour of duty will be in the service of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. Pantano and 15 other proud graduates of the Cape Fear Community College's basic law enforcement training course stood front and center Thursday night during a ceremony in McKeithan Hall on the CFCC North campus. Each graduate demonstrated commitment to a law enforcement career by successfully completing the rigorous course. But Pantano's path to becoming a deputy assigned to corrections duty at the New Hanover County jail is notable for its highly publicized twists and turns.

The following is a Free Republic exclusive. Freeper Flightline has been in touch with a family of one of the Marines accused of murder

A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me ["Marine Officer Cleared in Killing of Two Iraqis," Washington Post news story, May 27, 2005]. So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha...

Readers of this column are familiar with the inspiring story of Ilario Pantano. The New Yorker rejoined the Marine Corps to defend his nation after the September 11 attacks. He eventually found himself in dangerous Anbar province, Iraq, in winter 2004, leading his platoon in do-or-die counterinsurgency missions. One April evening, he fatally shot two insurgents. Rather than a pat on the back, Mr. Pantano found himself charged with murder by the Corps. Last year, he sat in a Camp Lejeune, N.C., courtroom fighting for his good name — and his freedom. On Monday, Mr. Pantano will tell his own...

It has been a long time coming, but I'm back in the fight. This timewielding a book!WARLORD: No Better Friend, No Worse EnemyAn unapologetic story of honor, courage and commitment on thebattlefield and in the courtroom. Warlord is in stores now and itcouldn't have come at a better time for America.Isn't it Ironic that a year after battling for my life and my honor Iam the unique position of defending the very Corps that I still lovefrom those that would tarnish her 230 years of heroic sacrifices?The following is a transcript from Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN (5/30)where Mr. Murtha...

A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me ["Marine-Officer-Cleared in-Killing-of-Two-Iraqis," news-story, May 27, 2005]. So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) regarding the Haditha incident ["Death Toll Rises in...

The book we've all been waiting for, right? I was provided with the below exclusive tidbit today via email. Marine officer 2LT Ilario Pantano has written a book about the ordeal he went through earlier this year when he was charged with murder after shooting two insurgents in a combat zone. He was exonerated, of course, due in part to information published on Euphoric Reality that came out during the Article 32 hearing, but mainly due to the fact that he was completely innocent of the charges in the first place. As it's been all along, Euphoric Reality is the...

WILMINGTON -- After fighting nearly a year against the Marine Corps he loved, 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano on Friday lay down his gilded officer's sword, exhausted and uncertain about his future. Pantano, 33, was cleared last week of charges that he murdered two Iraqi detainees in April 2004 while he made them search their own car. Pantano unloaded his gun into the men, whom he said had moved toward him in a threatening way. On Friday, Pantano was the star attraction at an American Legion fish fry to announce his decision to leave the Marine Corps and thank veterans and...

Second Lt. Ilario Pantano announced his resignation from the Marine Corps yesterday, a week after he was cleared of charges of murdering two Iraqi insurgents in the "triangle of death" south of Baghdad. [....] [....]Lt. Pantano is giving up a commission that had become one of the many symbols of patriotic duty in America. The Corps does not usually accept 31-year-old officer candidates, but the Manhattan native was determined to rejoin the Corps after al Qaeda's September 11 attacks. He talked his way back in, excelled at infantry training and won command of a 35-man platoon that went to Iraq...

Cleared Of Murder, Marine Wants Discharge Associated Press June 3, 2005 WILMINGTON, N.C. - A Marine Corps lieutenant cleared of murder charges for riddling two Iraqis with bullets and hanging a warning sign on their corpses says he now plans to ask for a discharge. Second Lt. Ilario Pantano said Thursday his fight against the charges was tiring and heartbreaking. The former Wall Street trader had returned to the Marines after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. "This is the best thing for my family, and I think it is the best thing for the Marine Corps, too," he said....

The Marine Corps dropped all charges yesterday against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, whom the Corps had accused of premeditated murder for shooting two Iraqi insurgents operating in the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad last year. The decision by Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, Lt. Pantano's commanding officer, ends one of the most traumatic criminal cases in recent Marine Corps history. Talk-radio hosts nationwide had come to the combat officer's aid, as had retired Marines and donors to a defense fund set up by his mother on the Web. In an e-mail to The Washington Times, Lt. Pantano said, "My family...

LT. PANTANO: CHARGES DROPPED By Michelle Malkin   ·   May 26, 2005 10:41 AM Just in from AP: A former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks will not be tried on murder charges for killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents, a Marine general decided Thursday. Reuters adds: "After careful consideration of the Article 32 Investigative Report and of the autopsies, Maj. Gen. Huck has decided to dismiss all charges," the statement said. "While the Article 32 Investigation has been lengthy, the best interests of 2nd Lt. Pantano and the government have been served by this process."...

2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano will not be tried on murder charges for killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents, a Marine general decided Thursday. You may recall Lt. Pantano from earlier posts on this blog. He served in the first Gulf War, afterwards he went on to become a Wall Street trader. In the aftermath of 9/11 Lt. Pantano re-inlisted in the marines and began to serve his country for a second time. He was charged with murder in while serving in Iraq. The two Iraqis were killed during an April 2004 search outside a suspected terrorist hideout in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Pantano...

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) -- A former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks will not be tried on murder charges for killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents, a Marine general decided Thursday. The decision by Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, commander of the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, ends the prosecution of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, whom prosecutors accused of killing the men without justification. "Down at the unit level, there was never a question about Ilario's conduct and whether or not he did the right thing," Charles Gittins, Pantano's civilian lawyer, said. "It was...

Charges against Lt. Pantano have been dropped. I just wonder what was in his accusser's mind.

Although an investigating officer concluded in a report that murder charges should be dropped against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, accused of premeditated murder in the killing of two suspected Iraqi insurgents in 2004 near Mahmudiyah, it is premature for the embattled Marine to celebrate. Pantano has said he acted in self-defense. While a decision by a magistrate at a comparable civilian preliminary hearing is generally final, the investigating officer's decision in the military's Article 32 pre-trial investigation proceeding is merely advisory. The commanding general at Camp Lejueune, N.C., Maj. Gen. Richard Huck is now reviewing the report made by Lt....

The lead prosecutor urging the case for murder against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano took the unusual step Wednesday of questioning findings of the officer hearing the case, who recommends that criminal charges not be pursued. Government attorneys argued after a five-day hearing last month at Camp Lejeune that Lt. Pantano’s shooting of two suspected Iraqi insurgents was an execution. The Wilmington Marine has maintained that it was an act of self-defense. Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn, the hearing officer, stated in a report to Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, commander of the Marine Corps’ 2nd Division, that the government’s case failed...

Report: No case against Pantano By John DeSantis Staff Writer john.desantis@starnewsonline.com “The government was unable to present any credible evidence to refute 2nd Lt. Pantano’s assertion that he felt he was about to be attacked. If 2nd Lt. Pantano felt he was about to be attacked, he was well within his right … to shoot the two men.” – Lt. Col. Mark Winn The murder case built by military prosecutors against a Wilmington Marine who said his shooting of two suspected Iraqi insurgents was in self-defense fell into ruin across the pages of a hearing officer’s report, which recommends that...

An investigating officer has recommended that the Marine Corps drop murder charges against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, who fatally shot two Iraqi insurgents a year ago during a raid on a hideout in the "Triangle of Death." The 16-page report from Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn labels as "extremely suspect" the prosecution's chief witness, Sgt. Daniel L. Coburn, whom Lt. Pantano had removed as a squad leader weeks before the April 15, 2004, shooting. "The government was not able to produce credible evidence or testimony that the killings were premeditated," Col. Winn wrote in his report, a copy of which...

A military investigator has cleared New York Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano of murdering two suspected Iraqi terrorists and recommended that all criminal charges against him be dropped. A 16-page decision from investigating officer Lt. Col. Mark Winn concluded that prosecutors were unable to present enough evidence to prove that the shooting of the two Iraqis a year ago was "premeditated" or refute 33-year-old former Wall Street trader's claim that he believed he was about to be attacked when he opened fire. The report also said Pantano — a New York University graduate and film producer who left a comfortable...

For the story behind the story... The officer who presided over a pretrial hearing for a Marine suspected in the murder of two Iraqis has submitted his recommendation on whether the case should go to court-martial, a military spokesman said Friday. Maj. Mark E. Winn has sent the paperwork to Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, said 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. The hearing officer has recommended that formal accusations of premeditated murder and other crimes against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano be withdrawn, stating there is no evidence to support prosecution. Huck will...

By Exclusive An investigating officer has recommended that the Marine Corps drop murder charges against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, who shot to death two Iraqi insurgents a year ago during a raid on an insurgent hideout in the "Triangle of Death." The 16-page report from Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn castigates as unreliable the prosecution's chief witness, Sgt. Daniel L. Coburn, whom Lt. Pantano had removed as squad leader weeks before the April 14, 2004 shooting.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- The officer who presided over a pretrial hearing for a Marine suspected in the murder of two Iraqis has submitted his recommendation on whether the case should go to court-martial, a military spokesman said Friday. Maj. Mark E. Winn has sent the paperwork to Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, said 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Huck will review the recommendation and decide how to continue in the case of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano. Prosecutors in the case allege that Pantano killed two suspected insurgents in April 2004 because...

The government's case against Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano appears to be slowly eroding. That's the clear impression from news reports out of the Article 32 hearing at Camp Lejeune, N.C., for the 33-year-old New Yorker, whom the Marine Corps has charged with premeditated murder in the deaths of two suspected Iraqi insurgents last year. Pantano recently requested to proceed directly to a general court-martial without having an Article 32 hearing, which is the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury proceeding. This was a calculated move on Pantano's part to preserve the availability of key defense witnesses, particularly members...

The defense is under no restriction about what it can say about Coburn in the way of character assassination, while he has to shut up and take it or risk a mistrial. So anyways. That's the law. I hope bloggers are keeping it in mind when they co-operate with the Pantano defense team's plan. Seriously, I hope that justice is done. And I hope Pantano is acquitted. But I don't think that public opinion will be a factor one way or the other. It's important that our warriors know their moves won't be second-guessed in the heat of battle, but...

Within the next week or so, a Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 32 hearing at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will determine whether Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano should face court-martial, and a possible death sentence, for an incident that occurred in Iraq last year. Pantano's fate will tell us a lot about the present state of our military culture. Ilario Pantano is a highly respected Marine officer who rejoined the Corps after 9/11, leaving behind a prosperous Manhattan life to do so. He originally enlisted in the Marines out of high school, served in the Gulf War, and rose...

NBC news just said he will not face charges. Still investigating another Marine.

Marine Lt. Pantano Self Defense or Murder in Iraq? has been dogged not only by Islamic terrorists, but also by fellow military social engineers/lawyers, including a former Air Force lawya, Scott Silliman, whose name has been prophetic. According to Michael Savage, the Ethicist-Internationalist Silliman has been rewarded for his one world views (read pro U.N., pro Europe, pro anything-but-America) by being hired by one of the Poison Ivy League's worse - Duke University. I just had to send a fax to the former airman who has had much more sympathy for America's enemies than our own troops. Pray for Silliman...

Dereliction of Duty April 25, 2005 When New Yorker and Army Specialist Robert Lorias lost his arm to a roadside bomb in Iraq’s dangerous Sunni Triangle he came home and the government stuck him with a bill. Senators Clinton (D) and Schumer (D) along with Congressman Hinchey (D) rightly rushed to action and pressured the Army to forgive the debt.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) - A Marine accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees intended to make an example of them by shooting them 60 times and hanging a sign over their bodies, prosecutors said Saturday during closing arguments in a pretrial hearing. "There's no other reason why this stellar lieutenant would have used such poor judgment," prosecutor Maj. Stephen Keane said. "It is not up to a 2nd lieutenant to violate the law of war and make an example of people he believes are bad." Prosecutors allege that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano killed the suspected insurgents in April 2004 after...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – A key prosecution witness in the case of a Marine officer accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees acknowledged yesterday that the defendant had stripped him of a unit leadership role days before the shootings. Sgt. Daniel Coburn testified that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano forced him to take on a radio operator's job after finding part of Coburn's squad relaxing near abandoned buildings that hadn't been properly secured. Pantano then elevated a lower-ranking Marine to take Coburn's job as squad leader. Coburn testified earlier last week that he was present when Pantano opened fire on the two...

Minutes before everyone enters the courtroom the mother and wife of accused Marine Ilario Pantano's take a detour to speak to reporters. Merry Pantano's voice shakes as she describes the hearing, "While the prosecutors case was falling apart, prosecutors were snickering and laughing among themselves while a fellow Marine officer is on trial for his life." This isn't yet the trial for his life. That could come if Pantano is court-marshaled after this hearing and convicted of murdering two Iraqi civilians. He says it was self defense. But even at this stage there are signs these long days in court...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A key witness in the case against a Marine officer accused of murdering two Iraqi civilians was abruptly taken off the stand Wednesday, accused of giving interviews. Marine Sgt. Daniel Coburn was testifying at a hearing against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano when the investigating officer, Maj. Mark E. Winn, read Coburn his rights and told him he was suspected of violating orders from superior officers. Defense attorneys had cross-examined Coburn about interviews he has given. Coburn said he had been told he was allowed to defend his character. The focus on Coburn brought to a temporary...

Last year, 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano shot and killed two terrorists after he and his fellow Marines raided a Baghdad house loaded with bombs and terrorist wares. But instead of getting military honors for killing the enemy, Lt. Pantano is facing murder charges. If a preliminary hearing that began Tuesday at Camp Lejeune recommends a court-martial, and if the court-martial convicts him of murder, he could face the death penalty. That would send the wrong message to servicemen everywhere. The facts in the case are disputed, but among the telling details thus far: No one has yet disputed that the...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A key witness in the case against a Marine officer accused of murdering two Iraqi civilians was abruptly taken off the stand Wednesday on suspicion of violating orders on giving interviews about the case. Marine Sgt. Daniel Coburn was testifying at a hearing in the case against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano when the investigating officer, Maj. Mark E. Winn, read him his rights and told him he was suspected of violating orders from superior officers. Coburn left the courtroom after requesting a lawyer. Defense lawyers had complained that Coburn had given interviews about the case to...

- A Marine testified that a fellow soldier accused of killing two Iraqis left a sign near their bodies bearing an "inappropriate" Marine slogan. Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, 33, has admitted to shooting the men during an April 2004 search in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. He has claimed the slayings were in self-defense. Fellow Marines testified Tuesday that Pantano shot the men in the back and put a sign near the bodies bearing a Marine slogan: "No better friend, no worse enemy." First Lt. Samuel Cunningham testified that after being told of the sign, he told Pantano to remove it, then called...

Pantano hearing begins By John DeSantis Staff Writer john.desantis@starnewsonline.com CAMP LEJEUNE A Marine Corps translator told a military hearing officer that he saw the two alleged Iraqi insurgents shot by 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano half inside their automobile, on their knees, with wounds to their backs. He testified during the first day of a preliminary hearing in the case. The witness, identified only as “Cpl. O” because of his involvement with counterintelligence operations, also said he saw a hand-lettered sign atop the car where the bodies lay reading “No better friend, no worse enemy.” Under questioning by defense attorneys, Cpl....

RALEIGH, N.C. - A former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks is now faced with the consequences of another choice — the split-second decision he made in a combat zone. Defense attorneys for 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano and military prosecutors agree that the Marine shot and killed two Iraqis last year in a search for a terrorist hideout. But they do not agree on circumstances surrounding the shootings. Defense attorneys say Pantano was doing his job. Prosecutors say it was murder, and were expected to present their evidence at a preliminary hearing set to...

We have obtained a sworn statement from a Marine corporal who cast doubt on the truthfulness of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano's chief accuser. As we have reported, the Marine Corps charged Lt. Pantano with two counts of premeditated murder for shooting two unarmed Iraqi insurgents who moved toward him despite his order, in Arabic, to stop. The Marine who complained about the shooting is Sgt. Coburn, whom Lt. Pantano had fired days before the April 15, 2004, incident for what the officer deemed incompetence. Statements from Lt. Pantano, Sgt. Coburn and other Marines at the scene agree on basic facts:...

We have obtained a sworn statement from a Marine corporal who cast doubt on the truthfulness of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano's chief accuser. As we have reported, the Marine Corps charged Lt. Pantano with two counts of premeditated murder for shooting two unarmed Iraqi insurgents who moved toward him despite his order, in Arabic, to stop. The Marine who complained about the shooting is Sgt. Daniel L. Coburn, whom Lt. Pantano had fired days before the April 15, 2004, incident for what the officer deemed incompetence. Statements from Lt. Pantano, Sgt. Coburn and other Marines at the scene agree on...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps has pushed back the start of a court hearing for a lieutenant accused in the slayings of two Iraqis. The military also agreed Thursday to make some seats available for media in the courtroom during the Article 32 hearing in the case of 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano. Pantano, 33, is charged with premeditated murder for shooting two Iraqis during a search for a terrorist hideout last April 15. After the hearing, the investigating officer will make a recommendation to the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division about whether there is enough...

(Photo credit: Katy Grannan) This much we know: The day that Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano killed the two men was like any other day in Iraq. It was a year ago, though no one could initially recall the date. The afternoon was drawing to a close. Soon, it would be dark. Already, 85 Americans had been killed that month, which would become the second deadliest of the war. To Pantano’s restless mind, all this had one meaning. “All of the conditions,” he thought, “are right for an ambush.” Pantano is, in most every way, an unlikely Marine. He was...

IT WAS THE FIRST WARM NIGHT of the spring, historically a busy night for inner-city police. During such evenings the citizenry's collective pent-up emotions from the winter hibernations spew forth with an intense revelry. A revelry that makes the New Orleans Mardi Gras seem like a meeting of the local historical society. I reported for my four-to-midnight tour of Philadelphia's Twelfth Police District. Only a few weeks out of the Academy, I had heard about such nights from the veterans. From the moment I reported for duty, I was given one assignment (or job, in Philadelphia police parlance) after the...

IT WAS THE FIRST WARM NIGHT of the spring, historically a busy night for inner-city police. During such evenings the citizenry's collective pent-up emotions from the winter hibernations spew forth with an intense revelry. A revelry that makes the New Orleans Mardi Gras seem like a meeting of the local historical society. I reported for my four-to-midnight tour of Philadelphia's Twelfth Police District. Only a few weeks out of the Academy, I had heard about such nights from the veterans. From the moment I reported for duty, I was given one assignment (or job, in Philadelphia police parlance) after the...

Claiming the government is withholding key evidence and witnesses, the U.S. Marine charged with murdering two Iraqis waived his right to a pretrial hearing yesterday and demanded a speedy court-martial. But a Marine Corps spokesman told WorldNetDaily this morning that Lt. Ilario Pantano – whose case has drawn outrage from many veterans and pro-military supporters – still is scheduled to face the pretrial, or Article 32, hearing April 25 at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Spokesman Maj. Matt Morgan said the Marine Corps has received Pantano's request, but the hearing "will continue as planned until we announce otherwise." Morgan, who noted the...

The attorney for Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano yesterday waived his client's right to a pretrial hearing on murder charges and demanded a speedy court-martial to force the government to prove its case. The move by lawyer Charles Gittins came the same day the Marine Corps command at Camp Lejeune, N.C., set a pretrial, or Article 32, hearing for April 25. Lt. Pantano's mother, Merry K. Pantano, issued a statement saying the waiver was filed because the prosecution is withholding evidence and because the Marines have put restrictions on the witnesses he can call. The defense team wants a...

As I watch the murder of Terri Schiavo play out on television at the behest of her husband, who for all intents and purposes is practicing polygamy since he insists that he is still her spouse after he fathered two children with his new lover, I can't help but be appalled at the indifference of those who haven't bothered to investigate the true facts of the matter. Those not following the case assume that right wing busy bodies are interfering with Terri's "right-to die." Regardless of the true circumstances of the situation, because of the prevailing attitude that humans should...

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Ilario Pantano says he demoted the sergeant who is expected to be the chief witness against the officer, who is charged with murdering two Iraqi insurgents. Lt. Pantano's attorney, Charles Gittins, has labeled Sgt. Daniel L. Coburn a "disgruntled" Marine who had a motive for falsely accusing his client. In his first newspaper interview, Lt. Pantano said he fired Sgt. Coburn as a squad leader after the sergeant made an "unforgivable" mistake last year by failing to clear buildings in an old brick factory in Iraq's Triangle of Death. "He sat the squad down and they...