A Farmington [New Mexico] man was sentenced to six months in a federal prison after he pleaded guilty to claiming to be a combat veteran who earned medals and ribbons, including a Purple Heart and being a felon in possession of firearms.
Anthony Gambino, 45, was sentenced Thursday in Albuquerque federal court and will have three years of supervised release after completing his prison term, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
He was indicted on May 25, 2016, with charges of making false representations about receiving military medals and decorations along with being a felon in possession of firearms.
During a Feb. 7 hearing, Gambino told the court he was in possession of multiple rounds of ammunition and six firearms as a convicted felon.
He also told the court he fraudulently claimed to be a recipient of a Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon and a Purple Heart.
The San Juan County Sherriff’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigations unit of the United States Department of Homeland Security investigated the case.
Gambino was discharged from the Marine Corps after eight months of service after it was discovered he had fraudulently enlisted under his brother’s name, according to the Daily Times archives.
He was contracted in 2015 by the sheriff’s office to produce a training video for the department’s SWAT team.
State records showed Gambino was the director of a state private security firm in Aztec called the Gambino Security Safety Corp.
An investigation was launched after the sheriff’s office received information about Gambino’s convictions.
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