Uppity Wisconsin

"Honor the warrior, not the war," Vietnam Veterans Against the War's slogan says.

Sometimes that's a fine line.

Case in point: LZ Lambeau, the extravagant event at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, billed as a belated welcome home for Wisconsin's Vietnam veterans. Bob Herbert, NY Times op ed columnist, praised the event in his column this week, although his enthusiasm was mostly directed at a Wisconsin Public Television, "Wisconsin's Vietnam War Stories."

The Lambeau event no doubt is well-intentioned.   It's privately financed by corporate, individual and foundation sponsors, and produced by the state Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Wisconsin Public Radio and Television, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. None of them are warmongers, although some of the financial backers may be.

But somewhere, it seems to have crossed the line. Here's what the Madison chapter of Veterans for Peace says: 

And so is our country.

Wisconsin Public Radio runs a piece today on Wisconsin Navy veteran, Keith Roberts (1968-71), who ran afoul of the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Attorney’s office by filing a claim for disability benefits.

Top VA Officials Plotted to Indict Vet in Violation of Federal VA Rules
[Please credit Michael Leon at MAL Contends]

Madison, Wisconsin—The Bush administration has refused to prosecute even one case of contractor fraud despite the multi-billion-dollar swindling and war-profiteering scandals in Iraq, but pursues a vigorous enterprise to marginalize, investigate, and prosecute veterans receiving disability benefits in an attempt to fabricate a fraud crisis among veterans who were injured and traumatized during their service to their country.

Madison, Wisconsin—A Vietnam-era veteran filed his reply brief Monday in his benefits-turned-criminal case before the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Keith Roberts, an honorably discharged Navy veteran (1969-71) from Gillett, Wisconsin, filed his brief arguing that “his constitutional rights were violated in this case, and that he was unjustly convicted and sentenced.”

Since March of this year, Roberts, a veteran with no criminal record, has been serving a 48-month sentence (and his family financially hit with associated costs of some $300,000) for federal wire fraud purportedly committed in his benefits application process with the VA, in a criminal-charges/VA benefits case now simultaneously before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims (CAVC), where Roberts is pursing his benefits claim.

Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims (CAVC)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is returning to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

Many Uppity Wisconsin readers know that Airman Keith Roberts (1968-74) is battling political forces allied with VA Sec. Jim Nicholson whose department worked with US Atty Stephen Biskupic to imprison this Vietnam-ear vet for 48 months on a ludicrous charge of wire fraud, now under appeal. (Tammy's #, (202) 225-2906)

by MAL Contends

Madison, Wisconsin—As Airman Keith Roberts (1968-74) sits behind bars, serving a four-year sentence for federal wire fraud for seeking disability benefits; the fight to free him has been launched.

The Gillett, Wisconsin native Roberts filed for disability benefits in 1999 after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to an assault by the Navy Shore Patrol in 1969, and the death of a fellow airman killed in a gruesome aircraft accident, also in 1969, at Naples, Italy where Roberts was stationed.

As Roberts was adjudicating his claim in 2005 with the US Veterans Administration (VA), Stephen Biskupic, US Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in an extraordinary development, stepped in and secured federal indictments and a conviction of Roberts on charges of wire fraud in fraudulently obtaining over $350,000 for the period of 1992 to 2004.

Critics see Roberts as an innocent victim of an unfeeling VA bureaucracy, rightwing forces allied with VA Secretary Nicholson, and an overzealous prosecutor.