Mar 10, 2023 5 min read

Greene County District Attorney David Russo found himself in the unusual position Thursday sitting in the witness stand and testifying against one of his former detectives who allegedly embellished his resume and insinuated he had served in the military.

Timothy Nease Sr. worked as the county’s chief detective for just two weeks in the summer of 2021 after Russo testified that he heard inconsistent statements and changing stories about military service.

Russo said the county commissioners suggested he consider hiring Nease in June 2021, and he interviewed him a few days later and hired him on the spot after reviewing his five-page resume.

“His resume is impressive, to say the least,” Russo said.

But just a few days after Nease started in late June, Russo overheard his new county detective “bragging” about being a sniper in the U.S. Navy, only to later change the branch to U.S. Marine Corps in another conversation. That prompted Russo to request Nease’s discharge papers and all certifications for police and firearms training he claimed to have in his resume.

When Nease came back the following week with a stack of paperwork, Russo began perusing them, but was unable to look through the entire stack when Nease appeared agitated by the request challenging his qualifications. Nease promptly resigned from his position, although Russo told county officials that he was actually being terminated.

Russo “approved” an investigation into Nease’s background and police certifications, and county Detective Zachary Sams charged Nease, 63, of Hickory, last November with multiple counts of falsely pretending to hold a professional license, unsworn falsification to authorities and misrepresentation of member of veteran of the military.

At the heart of the accusations is Nease’s description in his resume of time working as a licensed captain with the Merchant Marine that included the abbreviation for the U.S. Coast Guard in the title and alluded to him as being “retired.” While the Coast Guard is the government branch that licenses merchant mariners, the position is held by civilians and not within the military.

Special Agent John Garland of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, who testified through video conferencing during Nease’s preliminary hearing Thursday, said the Merchant Marine is “loosely affiliated” but does not fall under the Coast Guard. He added Nease’s abbreviation of the word “retired” in the title on his resume could be misconstrued that he had once served in the military.

“The abbreviation for ‘retired’ is not something we would normally see,” Garland said of Merchant Marine captains who allow their license to expire. “This is not typical designation we see on retired Merchant Marine captains.”

Nease never served in any branch of the military, according to Special Agent Amanda Grayham with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

But there was also confusion about his training certificates as a police officer. While Nease had some clearances, he did not have all of the firearms training certificates that he claimed in his resume, Sams testified. Other aspects of Nease’s resume included statements that his Canonsburg-based company, International Maritime Security Network LLC, served as a contractor for the Department of Defense, although there is no history in the federal government’s database showing contract work by Nease or his company.

Nease’s defense attorney, Christopher Blackwell, argued that his client had all of the credentials he included in his resume and that he never claimed to be a veteran, despite the wording of his title in his job with the Merchant Marine.

“It’s all based on their assumptions,” Blackwell said of how the district attorney and his investigators interpreted the resume. “Was he puffing up qualifications? Everyone does that. He’s not knowingly lying. They’re picking their assumption of it. It’s just not there. It’s a resume.”

But Deputy Attorney General Alicia Werner, who took over prosecuting the case due to Russo’s involvement in hiring and firing Nease, said anyone hiring him would’ve been drawn to the conclusion that he once served in the military due to the wording within the resume.

“I think he’s missing a bit of context,” Werner said of Nease’s explanation of his work history. “The point is Mr. Nease wrote out his resume – and in the defense’s own words – to oversell or puff up his qualification.”

More importantly, Nease was being hired for a “prominent position in a law enforcement office” where he was expected to be trusted, Werner said. Nease’s resume also included a variety of military training programs that could not be confirmed by government investigators, according to testimony.

“He knows what he’s doing (with) inferences about affiliations with these branches,” Werner said. “There is a very big difference in word choice by the defendant on his resume.”

After listening to testimony for more than two hours, District Judge David Balint ordered Nease to stand trial on one count each of falsely pretending to hold a professional license, unsworn falsification to authorities and misrepresentation of member of veteran of the military. Balint dismissed additional counts within each charge, but said he found that there was enough evidence to bound the case over to the Greene County Court of Common Pleas.

“I think the certifications and the military service is the issue,” Balint said.

Nease is free on $10,000 unsecured bond while awaiting his case to go to trial.