A Marine hero? Hardly

It is unfortunate that you failed to be a real professional and verify your source. I hope your apology hits the front page news.

thank you larry for the true story. i know of this guy,being a local at redondo beach living at the village behind the pier. i haved talked with him at old tonys before and thought this guy was full of s... oh he must of had fake ids, cause he was drinking beer at the bar. he was only 20 years old!! i know the bartenders at old tonys, they card all that look under 30. thank you larry for the story.

Hey, everyone gets duped. Even good reporters like yourself.

It could be worse, like the Los Angeles Times Tupac debacle. Imagine the shame they must have felt over there.

Don't forget Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter who fabricated more than three dozen articles. That was a huge international faux pas.

I had my doubts as well when I first read about this incident, but I'm glad you came clean and washed your hands of it.

Thanks for being up front about this. That's what matters most (provided your editor doesn't censure you publicly). But hey, everyone makes mistakes, even those who think they know more about reporting than you do, thanks to mindless television entertainment.

Larry, are you that naive? I don't mean that as a dig butthis story smelled bed from the very beginning and I was reading YOUR version w/o being privy to inside info.

I posted saying it was a fabrication. I don't believe he even got beat up.

What I find offensive is how this punk played everyone and stirred up racial emotions and hysteria. I've lived in the Village for 2 decades and NEVER seen gangbangers in groups, ever. Also at the hour he claimed it happened there are dozens of people out on a warm Saturday night!

Come one Larry!

I would think based on the initial press release from the police I would have assumed just as you did, that was a Marine. At least his fraud was eventually exposed.

There are many pathalogical liars out there. They tell stories like Hillary's and belive it. They are sick people. Read the "Mask of Sanity' free on the internet to get some insight.

You should have checked into the story before you decided to make it front page news. By no means am I saying what that boy did was right don't get me wrong. I read both stories in the paper and honestly your second story just sounds like you were trying to save your butt from failing to make sure your original story was legitimate.

This is classic. He's probably a long haired doper looking guy who talks like spicoli, and this reporter believed that's what happens to marines when they're out of the service.

Most former marines I know are still wearing the short hair, still disciplined, still fit, still success-oriented, and don't come within a mile of dope.

it's this reporter's bias that led him to be so easily duped. If he understood what our servicemen are really like, he'd have been suspicious.

It's a shame this person did what he did. He is a fake and a coward. But covering the story (and acknowledging its fabrication and the paper's role in it) was a professional choice. The reporter was simply doing his job, AND showing his patriotism, as so many people do these days. People are faulting this reporter for not checking facts, etc.... This reporter wrote a newsworthy story and tried to check the facts. Not only was he duped, so was the police dept. And so were all the people who wanted to help. Cut the reporter some slack. As soon as the truth was known, the Daily Breeze did a fine job of handling an unpleasant situation. The Breeze (and its reporters) don't set out to mislead its readers but it sometimes happens. In today's chaotic world, these things happen. The Breeze caught on fast to this punk's lie, addressed it and moved on. The reporter did a fine job.

I agree, Tiffany. I'm sure this idiot inspired fear and racial tensions in many residents. Gang members? Please. That's why these stories are meant to be checked before fed to the public.

And that leads to Larry. Why would anyone lie about being a Marine? For all of the reasons you listed in your article! It gives him a sense of prestige, sparks outrage that anyone would attack a local hero, and invites people to aid him with offers of money, etc. I'm not saying that this idiot thought that far ahead, but it's a no-brainer that mentioning one is in the service during a war would definitely help his own personal agenda.

Lastly, the printing of the false story is your own fault. You mention here that all it took was one phone call to Camp Pendleton to see that there was some type of confusion over this man's story. You should have made that call before you decided to have the story printed. Period. Take responsibility for your actions! Do not pass them off as you were duped. Your job requires you to find out as much as you can so you do not dupe the public.

I would like to add that the Daily Breeze should be commended for pulling the original story and replacing it with the facts, as they are known to this point.

Almost every day we hear about the decline of newspapers, reduced circulation and staffing cutbacks. No doubt the downward spiral of the newspaper business has led to an environment where fewer reporters are asked to do more work.

That being said, being "duped" in this case is the same as making a very basic mistake -- failing to fact check -- which could have been taken care of with one phone call. Though Mr. Altman seems to normally be a hard-working reporter, his blog could use less whining and more self-awareness. He got it wrong, pure and simple.

The public will have a lot more respect for reporters and the newspaper world when they do a better job of admitting their mistakes, rather than take a defensive stance as Mr. Altman has.

Gary has no life. shut up gary, no one cares.