Judge orders independent investigator in Iraq ‘fragging' case

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A judge ordered the government Friday to pay for an independent investigator who will help prepare a defense for a soldier accused of killing two superior officers in Iraq. Military judge Col. Patrick Parrish granted the request after lawyers for Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez complained Army investigators haven’t cooperated with them. Martinez, 39, of Troy, N.Y., is the only soldier known to be charged with killing superior officers during the Iraq war, also known as “fragging.” He is accused of killing Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, 34, of Milford , by setting off grenades and a mine in their room at one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces in June 2005. The pair were his superior officers in the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York National Guard. Before issuing his ruling, Parrish noted that a civilian defendant in a death penalty case could be given an independent investigator at government expense. “Do you think that would sit well with Congress, knowing that a soldier has fewer rights than a person sitting in a federal prison?” Parrish asked military prosecutor Capt. Adam Siple. Parrish gave the defense until Jan. 19 to recommend an investigator to be hired. Allen’s widow, who attended the hearing, disagreed with Parrish’s ruling. “It just seems like the more the defense gets, the more they want,” Barbara Allen said in a telephone interview following the hearing. “It’s a little ridiculous. I’m hoping at some point they’ll actually go ahead with the trial.” The defense also asked for permission Friday to hire a forensic expert to examine the victims’ computer. That and other matters were scheduled to be considered during a hearing Monday. In addition to premeditated murder, for which he could face the death penalty, Martinez is charged with illegally giving government printers to an Iraqi and failing to obey orders prohibiting possession of a private firearm, alcohol and explosives. The case is being handled at the North Carolina post because its commanding general, now retired, was in charge of ground forces in Iraq when the officers died June 8, 2005. There has been at least one other case of a soldier killing fellow Americans during the war. Last year, a jury at Fort Bragg sentenced 101st Airborne Division Sgt. Hasan Akbar to death for killing two officers and wounding 14 soldiers in March 2003, when he threw grenades into troop tents and fired on soldiers. He was not directly under the command of the officers who were killed.