“Bigamist” Johnson Pays Fine, Avoides Doing Time
Well, it looks like it’s official. Per the Army Times, that philandering former bigamist Brigade Commander, James H. Johnson III, won’t be doing any time. Looks like he came up with the $300,000 he was fined, and has apparently paid up. Full details are behind a pay wall, but the story’s “teaser” tells enough – well, assuming the Army Times got the facts right this time.
Yeah, this was a travesty. IMO Johnson should be doing at least a couple of years at the Leavenworth crossbar hotel, followed by dismissal, along with that fine. But the courts-martial panel turned candy-ass and didn’t slam him like it should have, probably out of sympathy for his first wife.
However, Johnson’s now a convicted felon – which likely rather severely limits his post-service employment prospects. In many states that also means voting and firearms ownership could be problematic. I’m guessing his Army career will end fairly soon, too. And I’d also guess the judge at his civil divorce trial will look at all of this when he decides division of property and future alimony his first wife is owed.
I hope that Johnson had to cash out 100% of any savings/retirement accounts and/or investments he owned to pay that fine. And I hope the judge in his divorce trial awards his first wife all community property, plus a big chunk of his retirement pay – say, 75% or so – as alimony.
Have a nice rest of your life, Johnson. Good riddance, and don’t let the door hit you on the ass as you outprocess – hopefully very soon.
Category: Legal, Military issues, Shitbags
Sinloi MF’er.
Convicted felon means no firearms at all per federal law. 50% of his retirement will go to her. This not counting the property. He will will not be living the good life.
harp1034: You are correct about the firearms provision; I’d forgotten that. But what she gets from his retired pay depends on the judge. The USFSPA allows – but does not require – that his retired pay be considered a marital asset to be divided as part of a divorce settlement. Depending on state law, the judge may or may not be able to do that – and may or may not choose to give her more/less than 50% of his retired pay.
The USFSPA also allows his retirement pay to be garnished for alimony or child support. So if she gets either alimony or child support and he tries to withhold payment, she can have his pay garnished and make DFAS pay her directly.
What does seem clear is that she’ll be a 20/20/20 spouse and continue to be eligible for PX/commissary/TRICARE
Affect his chances at civilian employment? Highly unlikely since the EEOC has been, for the greater part of this year and last, been making sure that civilian employers can’t consider a felon’s criminal record when deciding who they should hire unless they can prove it will directly impact the job they are being hired for.
His dad is a retired 3 star and former CC of the famed 82nd. Bet lots of today’s Army GOs were mentored by LTG Johnson – not that it influenced the decision.
I almost wish I could fuck up badly enough to have to pay a $300,000 fine… And then be able to do it.
18 years in. 18 years, and I still could not do something like this without another 20 years in Enlisted deployed for 20 years to afford that!
Seriously, this whole thing played out like a Duffel Blog story… Way to hold to the higher standards and all that.
If it wouldn’t be such a cruelty to the women…
…he should be sentenced to marriage. To both women. At the same time. In the same house. On house arrest.
@7 kind of like a forced “Sister Wives” show…I might watch a little of that nonsense…especially to see the women hating on each other and him…of course the potential downside is that this lucky b4stard finds out both women are sort of okay with it and the series takes off and he makes a fortune…
Pretty common to see a resignation in lieu of court-martial among the senior field grades.
I know of one battalion commander who had an affair with another battalion commander’s wife while her hubby was deployed. Long story short, he left the division quickly when the CG found out about it.
Another time, pre DADT, an O-6 JAG was caught “in corpus dilecti” with another male. He was to be allowed to retire in lieu of, but his male E-5 clerk complained about the colonel forcing himself on him.
@9 VI…..now, now…how many of us *haven’t* had the opportunity to be bent over the desk by one of the officers above us…. or as was the specialty to my AFSC in the Chairforce… having been told “Airman/Sergeant… Don your kneepads and prepare for underdesk operations.”
/ahh…good times good times….{:-D
Damn shame this @$$hat made it as far has he did in rank… I really feel for his ex-wife and his father.. His Father was one hell of a Leader.. I had the pleasure of spending Christmas and New years eve’s with him in 90, As the 82nd CG he was out checking on troops those nights and he stopped in guard tent and played a few hands of cards with us in between our shifts.. That meant a hell of alot to a young PFC Paratrooper far from home and still means alot to this retired 1SG today. I’m sure his Dad’s reputation is all that kept his sorry ass out of jail.
I hope his dick falls off. Anything else I type about this turd wouldn’t be nice at all. Bastard. I’m sure some of the Field Grade Officers and NCOs whose careers he effed up are just thrilled shitless that Johnson got off like this.
I’m guessing he doesn’t get to retire as a bird COL…maybe LTC. Just a final pinch of salt in the ol’ wound.
His court martial made a mockery of the military justice system. If Johnson was enlisted he’d be in Leavenworth right now, with all his pay & benefits forfeited. I hope the COLs who sat on his CM panel and the judge are happy they protected one of their own at the expense of the military justice system.
The West Point Protective Association in action.
Where did he get the money? I read an article a month or so ago where he was sueing his ex-wife to force her to sell their house and her jewelry because it was her fault that he was caught and fined.
I’d like to concur with @6’s remarks.
There are Soldiers on welfare, but an O-6 can shit out 300,000 dollars of a fine seemingly rather quickly.
Same as when they “reduce” a 3-star to 2-star. The poor guy, ohhh so he will lose about 1000 bucks a month of the 10+ thousand a month he’d make on retirement.
Officers are supposed to be more accountable, gentlemen, of the highest caliber. This is why they get such a high paycheck, not just because “daddy” is a General and they get to slide thru everything their whole career not having to take responsibility for their actions.
What a joke. The higher up you go… the higher the standards? “Duty Honor Country”… no it was the WPPA in full effect!
Good buds with a former FSO in the battalion Johnson was S3 for back in the day.
Had nothing, and I mean nothing– good to say about him. Said Jr. used his dad’s wasta all the time and was one of those classic “perfumed princes” who acted like the rules didn’t apply to him. “Do you know who I am?” was allegedly one of his favorite phrases.
A shame he got over…gives officers a bad name. Of course, if I ever tried what he did, my chestnuts would be roasted (and deservedly so). I have no such connections, after all.
Not to sound too dumb but I have just recently been following this blog from the stolen valor fb page and I have no clue what’s going on. Can someone please enlighten me about this? Much appreciated.
I left service as an O-3E.
This dude makes me puke.
I saw that a lot on that side of the house.(Inappropriate behavior) Double standard(s).
I hope she (they) get it all.
Turd.
He can lick me where I $h!t. Where’s the SMA crying about enforcing the standards on this one?
FireFry12: follow the links in the article, and in the linked articles. They’ll give you the details.
Bottom line: the low-life was playing around with a foreign-born mistress he apparently met as a Bn Cdr in Iraq, committed bigamy, acted like a true ass towards his first wife, and was defrauding the govt by having the govt pay for travel when his mistress accompanied him. He got off damned light, IMO probably because the courts-martial panel didn’t want his first wife to get left out in the cold.
Hondo, don’t forget to add the fact that, while deployed, he had much of his staff working to help the mistress’s Iraqi father gain contracts for projects in Afghanistan. When the contracts didn’t happen several of those on Johnson’s staff were given bad performance reviews. I realize that really has nothing to do with the case, in particular, but it just goes to show even more of what a turd he is.
@24 Johnson must not understand any of the concepts associated with the word honor, not to mention the basic concept of the words; “forsaking all others….”
Lying, fornicating, fraudulent piece of sh1t, I hope Hondo’s take is correct that this was done to help the wife.
Otherwise, he should have been stripped of everything associated with being an honorable officer serving the nation, and left with nothing which is what he did for the nation.
To paraphrase the movie line, “he thought the army existed to provide him position….instead of understanding his position existed to provide the rest of us our freedoms.”