The day after his inauguration in 1977 Jimmy Carter issued a blanket pardon to all who had avoided the Vietnam-era draft by not registering or by leaving the country. But he didn't pardon the deserters. This gave Chief Warrant Officer James Averhart, appointed last September to command the Marine Corps Absentee Collection Center in Washington, an opportunity to raise his profile. He's going after Vietnam-era deserters.

According to Will Van Sant of the St. Pete Times,

Averhart says 1,218 known Marine Corps deserters are still on the lam. Of those, about 60 to 70 are cases that have gone unsolved for many years, sometimes decades.

Averhart said he and his team have caught up with 27 of them since last September.

Averhart's latest catch was a 64-year-old living a quiet life under an assumed name. His real name was Jerry Texiero, a Marine Corps corporal at the time he deserted some forty years ago—

.... The collection center had fingerprints from when Texiero joined the Marines in December 1959. Military records indicate he was then in Los Angeles.

The prints were given to the FBI, which ran them through the National Crime Center Information database.

They got a hit.

Texiero's prints matched those of Gerome Conti, who was on probation after a 1998 fraud and grand theft conviction in Pinellas County.

Averhart said the case had likely been investigated several times over the years. He would not speculate on why Texiero had eluded capture, but talked of how things operate on his watch.

"It's just personal pride," Averhart said. "When I have a responsibility for something, I want to do well."

Friends of Jerry's have been scratching their heads over this one. Elaine Smith, his best friend, said,

"I understand him leaving the service," she said Wednesday. "Jerry is not a killer. There is no way that man could kill anybody."

As for Texiero's future,

Military officials say it's too early to tell what will happen to Jerry Texiero. When he arrives at Camp LeJeune, an investigation will begin into his desertion.

He could face a court martial and time in a military prison, or a simple discharge depending on the results of the inquiry.

Smith said she feels Texiero has atoned for any crime he may have committed, and that after 40 years, the military should let the matter go.

"They have got better things to do," she said. "I can't believe they are wasting their time on this thing with Jerry."

Well, Elaine, it's more like a sport really.