!!New Militia Conviction-- Ron Cole (Again)!!
Joseph Pothier
Good Afternoon Newsgroup Readers,
I reference my numerous postings on Militiaman Ron Cole of the Colorado
1st Light Infantry from ca. 1998 through 2001.
Yesterday's Toledo Blade carried the following article on the most
recent conviction of Militiaman Ron Cole for criminal activity.
Militiaman Cole gained a considerable national reputation in the militia
movement in the late 1990s. During the Freeman standoff he attempted to
break into their compound to help them during the siege. Later he gained
national publicity protesting during the trial of mass murder Tim
McVeigh. Arrested on numerous firearms charges in 1998, he plead guilty
and spent two years in federal prison. On his release he said he had
turned Branch Davidian and claimed to be the successor of David Koresh
in 2001.
Now he has been convicted of another felony, but one hardly related to
political activity. Mr. Cole has been convicted of credit card fraud!
My, my, how the once militia mighty leader has fallen.
+++++++++++++
`Ex-Colorado militia member convicted of fraud in Ohio,` Toledo Blade
[OH], 080609.
A former member of the Colorado militia who was extradited to Ohio
earlier this year was convicted last week in U.S. District Court in Ohio
on fraud charges.
Ronald Cole pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including 12 counts of
unlawful production of identification documents and two counts of wire
fraud. He will be sentenced Sept. 15.
According to the indictment filed Nov. 7, Cole created three false
Colorado driver's licenses, five false U.S. Social Security cards, three
false birth certificates from New York, and one State of Ohio temporary
identification card.
Cole also was convicted of submitting false car loan applications to
local dealerships.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Uram said the applications inflated Cole's
annual income to more than $100,000, about twice what he made.
With the loans given to him by Capital One Auto Finance based on the
false information, Cole purchased two "high-end" cars in December, 2005,
from the Vin Devers automobile dealership in Sylvania and from Yark
Automotive Group in Toledo.
According to Mr. Uram, Cole has an "extensive history" with the militia
movement and was a supporter of the religious sect known as the Branch
Davidians.