No Class Bum Busted for 'Pretending' to be Soldier For First-Class Upgrade

Long Island man busted for 'pretending' to be soldier to get first-class upgrade

There is a stolen valor aspect to this story. Here's a clown who wants people to treat him as if he had the courage to enlist and put his life on the line for his country, when in reality he is a cowardly piece of opportunistic slime that may just be a waste of carbon.

This GI Joe wannabe got a hero's welcome just by dressing the part.

A Long Island man was arrested for donning an Army uniform and brazenly posing as a soldier so he'd get bumped up to first class on a flight to JFK from the Dominican Republic, Port Authority cops have charged.

Rock Diaz, 22, of Freeport, has a history of pretending to be a military man to get VIP treatment, cops said -- he once even smooth-talked his way into a jetliner's cockpit, where he was photographed sitting at the controls wearing a goofy grin.

The mile-high huckster was finally brought to earth Friday afternoon when a sharp-eyed customs official at JFK asked him his rank -- and he gave an answer that didn't match the insignia on the uniform he was wearing.

So, a buzz cut and an army surplus uniform and this jerk feels free to be treated like a real man. Without going into this clown's self esteem issues, (He probably was punished as a child for sawing his dog in half*),

"If you knew anything about the military and you looked at him, you could tell he wasn't really a soldier," a cop said.

But Diaz -- in camouflage fatigues and sporting a military-style buzz cut -- allegedly insisted he was the real thing when questioned after getting off an American Airlines flight.

Asked his rank, he said "E-5," referring to a pay grade. But Diaz was wearing the insignia of a staff sergeant, the source said, which is "E-6," a higher pay grade. He also couldn't say where he was stationed, sources said.

Although he was wearing a standard-issue "Army Combat Uniform" and cap, he could not produce a military ID.

So, we have a cop implying that this slob did not exactly present himself as a squared away member of the military. But, here's the kicker for me: "he could not produce a military ID".

What does this say about the TSA? They're checking Granny's Depends for whatever she might be smuggling on board, but someone shows up in a military uniform but doesn't have a military ID, this raises no flags?

The faux soldier allegedly admitted he had pulled the scam at least once before -- when the cockpit photo was taken in December 2009. Other photos obtained by The Post show him wearing the uniform in Haiti and elsewhere.

Interviewed yesterday, the Spanish-speaking Diaz claimed he did nothing wrong and blamed any confusion on a language barrier.

Is this clown's name really "Rock"? A guy who'd fake his military service would lie about other things too! He's wandering around, telling people he's an E-5, but there was confusion "because of a language barrier"? Maybe "Rock" translates as "Pebbles"? (Dang that language barrier!)

Personally, I'd put Pebble's name on a no-fly list and let him take the train wherever he wants to go. Then, I'd post his picture in every USO and American Legion Post. And the Army Times. And Stars and Stripes, etc.

Maybe he'd get introduced to someone who would understand him perfectly, without a language barrier? One could only hope.





*Old joke



H/T Memeorandum