Police Chief's 1987 Lie Catches Up With Him

Here's one way to lose your gig as police chief: talk about a stint as a Navy SEAL trainee that never happened. That's what Robert Kerkorian allegedly did, and yesterday he resigned his post in Waukegan, Ill., after being asked to do so by the mayor. Kerkorian wrote in his 1987 application to the Illinois police department that he was once a "SEAL trainee," and he told a fellow officer about a time his SEAL squad supposedly came under fire during a foreign reconnaissance mission. But, while Kerkorian was in the Navy for a few months, he is not listed in military records as a SEAL or a SEAL trainee, reports the Chicago Tribune, which notes the resignation followed a series of Tribune articles on his claims.

Ultimately, Kerkorian acknowledged "misrepresenting" his military service, but insisted that since he had been "selected for SEAL training," it wasn't wrong to call himself a "SEAL trainee." Navy records show he was sent to a SEAL training base, but Kerkorian admitted he never actually underwent core SEAL training. Oddly, Kerkorian was just appointed chief in May, following a controversy with the last chief (who called the suicides of three officers "selfish" and "weak" in an email). Kerkorian isn't out of a job, however; he'll downgrade to his previous gig as a department commander. (More resignation stories.)