Navy back Admiral Timothy Giardina not only used three poker that is counterfeit at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a year ago, but may also have really made them himself. Those allegations originate from a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report that was obtained by the Associated Press via a Freedom of Information Act, a report that outlined the evidence detectives had gathered against the admiral.

Giardina was banned from the Horseshoe after being caught utilizing three fake $500 chips in June 2013. At the right time, Giardina was vice Admiral and the second in demand at US Strategic Command, which oversees the military’s nuclear arsenal.

Giardina First Claims He Bought Chips, Then Backtracks

Initially, Giardina told investigators that he had purchased four of the $500 chips from the man within the bathroom. Later, he backtracked, admitting his lie and saying that he rather simply found the chips in the bathroom rather. In a statement to Admiral Bill Gortney made in April 2014, Giardina said that he regretted lying, but still maintained he did not know the chips were fake when he utilized them.

‘we should have either told the facts or remained silent rather than lying concerning the events whenever questioned,’ Giardina stated. ‘This lapse in judgment doesn’t make me a thief and a criminal.’

Making use of the chips that are counterfeit enough for Giardina become prohibited from the Horseshoe and another Harrah’s casino for 90 times. When he then tried to play anyway, Giardina was banned for life from all Caesars properties. That alone was a stiff penalty for the admiral, who had been playing about 15 hours a week at the Horseshoe and ended up being known there as ‘Navy Tim.’ But Giardina’s insistence that he was not mindful the chips were fake was critical to their armed forces career, as there is no restriction on legal gambling even for officers with access to classified information.

‘Regardless of anyone’s viewpoint on the matter, disapproval regarding the appropriate way in that I spent portions of my off-duty time just isn’t adequate grounds to allege criminal misconduct,’ Giardina stated.

Navy Fired, Demoted Giardina

But punishment nevertheless came. Last September, Giardina was denied further access to classified information. He had been then fired from Strategic Command a month later, demoted from vice admiral to rear admiral, and assigned to staff duty at navy headquarters in washington. Even though the Navy wasn’t yes they had enough evidence to convict Giardina, and thus avoided quick hits slot free games a court martial, they did eventually find him accountable of two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer in a May 2014 non-judicial proceeding.

Now, the thinking behind those convictions has become clear. According to the report that is newly-released NICS detectives found DNA evidence that linked Giardina to your creation of the potato chips. The counterfeits were produced by taking $1 chips and painting them to look like $500 chips, then affixing $500 stickers. While detectives couldn’t find any fingerprints on the chips, they did match a DNA sample from Giardina to one from the paper that is adhesive on the phony chips.

The new revelations from the report came as no surprise for the local prosecutor that initially investigated the case.

‘we never really bought his story about finding them in the john,’ stated Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber. ‘There ‘s no question in my own mind that it wasn’t a true story.’