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Marine's accuser: No grudge BY BRIAN KATES DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER The sergeant who accused a New York Marine lieutenant of summarily executing two unarmed Iraqi detainees says the young officer was a "motivated" platoon leader and he does "not have any animosity against him." Sgt. Daniel Coburn revealed that he is the Marine who reported 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano to military authorities for killing the two suspected insurgents. The detainees were shot in the back after their handcuffs were removed, according to the charges. Pantano faces charges of premeditated murder and could receive the death penalty if convicted in...

Second Lt. Ilario Pantano was making a six-figure income as an energy trader with Goldman Sachs in New York when the World Trade Center was attacked. Pantano had friends who worked in the twin towers and friends among the firefighters who perished trying to save them. This Marine veteran, who had already served his country in the first Gulf War, set aside his career (which also included work in film and television), kissed his wife and two children goodbye, and headed to Quantico, Va., for officer training school. A Marine Corps colleague asked, "How many guys do you know (who)...

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine has been charged with premeditated murder and could face the death penalty for shooting two Iraqi men during a vehicle search near a weapons cache in Iraq last year, the Marine's attorney said on Thursday. The Marine Corps released a statement saying 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano was charged on Feb. 1 for his involvement in the shooting deaths of two Iraqi men on April 15, 2004, during combat operations in Iraq. The release said the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, had convened an investigation to determine if...