Gambling admiral still awaits fate

Rear Admiral Tim Giardina, the former nuclear commander now assigned a desk job in the Pentagon pending the outcome of a navy investigation into his gambling activity using fake chips last year (see previous reports) still awaits decisions on his fate months later, according to the Omaha World-Herald…and he’s becoming impatient with the delay in concluding the enquiry.

One can understand why – depending on the outcome the admiral, already removed from his senior post in the nuclear weapons division of the armed forces, could face an early retirement, perhaps without benefits from a long and illustrious military career.

Giardina was caught out when he lost several high-value chips to an opponent in a game of poker at an Iowa casino. When his rival tried to cash the chips, however, an alert cashier noticed discrepancies and an immediate house investigation commenced, including a review of security camera footage which suggested that the admiral was involved.

Giardina is alleged to have given conflicting stories on how he came to be in possession of the fake $500 chips, initially claiming that he had found the casino currency in a restroom. After making his find known to a casino employee, Giardina alleged that no one came forward to claim the property and he therefore used the chips in the poker game.

However, the admiral later changed his story, it is claimed, saying that he bought the chips from an unknown man in the restroom, an occurrence that surveillance camera footage indicated was not the case.

This week Giardina told the newspaper: “I expect resolution fairly soon. I’ve been frustrated that a case I thought was very straightforward has taken months of investigation.”

He went on to criticise the lack of an opportunity to tell his side of the story to investigators, and emphasised that there was no suggestion that he was addicted to poker, a game played widely in the navy.

However, that was as far as he would go in discussing the detail of his case, claiming: “The last thing I want to do is get out in front of a case with specifics and anger the people who make judgments about my future.”

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