We were all deceived, allegedly

Anyone can lie to the media, and we don’t always catch the liars.

In part, that’s why reporters are trained to quote people they use as sources by first and last name, so if sources are fabricating information, readers will know who told us that lie. We’re trained to dig up public records and cross-check our information against it. That can help sort truth from lies, too.

But sometimes it takes a deeper investigation by law enforcement with subpoena power to discover the truth.

A Kenai grand jury has indicted Frank Roach — and the charitable organization Alaska Veterans Outreach Boxes for Heroes — on nine criminal counts, including a scheme to defraud in the first degree.

We heard in October 2011 that Kenai police were investigating Roach after someone on the inside of the organization spilled the beans to law enforcement. We did not report that at the time because Roach had not been arrested or charged with a crime.

So for seven months, we checked in every few weeks to ask if Kenai investigators were ready to talk. But law enforcement agencies don’t comment on their ongoing investigations, so we waited. Certainly we wish we’d not been seemingly played the fool by Roach. But that it took seven months for law enforcement to investigate and indict Roach leads us to believe this was a tangled web of fraud, and not a simple scheme we should have found first and thus been able to avoid.

Instead, we were all deceived. Allegedly.

We all brought items to donate, gave cash, helped pack boxes or wrote newspaper stories because we all thought we were helping send soldiers a bit of love from home. Because that’s who we are — Alaskans who love God, country and family, and who value and respect the men and women who serve in our nation’s military.

If hindsight had wings, we’d have known all along that Roach was allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud, and as such we could prevent ourselves from ever devoting a drop of ink or an inch of newsprint to this allegedly false effort.

Roach has been indicted, but he is due his day in court. In the eyes of the law, he is still innocent unless proven guilty. We’ll be following this case from afar and let readers know its eventual legal outcome.

As a way to cleanse the palate, we offer people the opportunity to be part of an ongoing care package effort for soldiers led by the Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post 9365. The group needs donations of cash for postage and items to include in the care packages. Call 376-5820 to get involved and help send a little love to a soldier.