Political activist whose fake death fooled San Francisco says he's alive in Mexico

https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/08/san-francisco-political-activist-who-
stole-valor-still-alive/

An investigation by The Standard could not find any records of political 
activist Richard Parina's death or his distinguished military record. In 
an interview Thursday, Parina said he's alive—and in Mexico.

Reports of San Francisco political activist and purported war hero Richard 
Parina’s death weren’t just greatly exaggerated. Rather, they were 
outright lies in an elaborate and bizarre hoax that fooled even prominent 
political figures.

In an hourlong phone interview Thursday that was at times apologetic but 
more often full of venom and vitriol, Parina said that he was not in the 
grave but instead in Mexico over the last six weeks. This contradicts what 
many people in San Francisco had been led to believe since the 78-year-
old’s death was announced over social media on Jan. 18. 

Parina admitted that he had repeatedly lied to people about growing up in 
the city, going to war in Vietnam and Iraq, and receiving multiple Purple 
Hearts and a Silver Star, confirming a previous report by The Standard. He 
shared a photo of himself taken on March 7, which showed him with his 
beard shaven and wearing a T-shirt of Refuse Refuse, a neighborhood 
cleanup organization.

Over at least the last two years, Parina had not only claimed to be a 
Vietnam veteran in conversations and emails, but he also proudly wore a 
veterans ballcap at public meetings and while canvassing for moderate 
Democrat political campaigns. Instead, he said he served in the Army 
Reserves, which could not be verified.

“I fucked up and stole fucking valor,” Parina said Thursday. “And I put it 
on my hat, and I’m as sorry as I’ve ever been in my whole fucking life 
that I did that.”

Word of Parina’s death began to spread in January when a person claiming 
to be his nephew tweeted that Parina had died the prior night after 
attending a political debate in the Mission District. An outpouring of 
condolences ensued, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey eulogized Parina in a 
speech during a Board of Supervisors meeting.

Parina's friends started receiving emails from an account that claimed to 
be Parina's widow. The messages from “Joslin Clooney Parina” discussed 
arranging a celebration of life at an Embarcadero restaurant—while also 
offering to support political causes in the city.

However, the memorial never happened, Parina’s family members no-showed at 
events, money promised for political campaigns didn’t materialize and 
rumors began to spread that Parina was, in fact, alive. 

An investigation by The Standard could not find any death records for 
Parina, and the military said it could not locate records validating his 
claims of being a war hero who served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. 
The Standard also was unable to substantiate that Joslin Clooney Parina or 
Parina’s nephew exist, or that Parina recently married. 

Concerns also arose over Parina's claims that he’d raised $1.3 million for 
a group called the Catholic Alumni PAC. Before disappearing, he told a 
reporter from The Standard and numerous associates that he was going to 
fund moderate political campaigns focused on public safety.

On Thursday, Parina said his fundraising claims were real, but he had “no 
idea” what happened to the money. He said that he is in ill health and 
bought medications with money he had pledged to give judge candidate 
Albert “Chip” Zecher. Zecher could not be reached for comment.

The PAC money was supposedly drawn from retired police and fire officials, 
a North Beach restaurateur and former tech execs. Parina refused to name 
anyone involved in the effort.

Parina blames adopted nephew: ‘It’s crazy, man’
On Thursday, Parina told The Standard that he was unaware that many people 
thought he was dead until The Standard’s story was published last week. He 
blamed the ruse on an “adopted nephew” whom he refused to identify. He 
claimed this person was an alcoholic but offered no explanation for why 
they would concoct such a story. 

“If he just kept his big mouth shut, nobody would have paid any 
attention,” Parina said, laughing as he talked. “He created all these 
characters. It’s crazy, man. Out of thin fucking air!”

Parina said he is now living in Mexico with his wife and has no plans to 
come back to San Francisco. He claimed his “nephew” had impersonated his 
“widow” in emails. Email accounts used by Parina’s purported nephew and a 
person claiming to be a former attorney and Parina family representative 
have been deactivated.

A tweet from someone named Richard Francis discussing a Silver Star 
document that turned out to be fake.

A screenshot of a tweet sent by someone claiming to be Richard Parina's 
nephew, who admitted that Parina was not a war hero before deleting their 
account. | Source:Screenshot

Parina told The Standard he is dealing with Alzheimer’s and fibrosis, 
among other maladies caused by years of alcoholism. However, Parina also 
sent an email this week to a San Francisco associate saying he was on his 
deathbed in San José del Cabo but noting “the golf and food is super.” 

Parina claimed he worked for a consulting firm for roughly four decades 
but said he could not identify the company because it would jeopardize his 
retirement money. He also said he started a “military memorabilia 
business” with the purported nephew who announced that he was dead.

When confronted with inconsistencies in his story—as well as concerns 
about what happened to the money he allegedly raised—Parina grew angry.

“I don’t give a fuck what you write,” he said. “If you don’t think I’m 
credible, I don’t give a shit. I’m trying to give you an accurate 
portrayal of what the fuck happened.”

Parina also had choice words for many of the political volunteers whom 
he’d worked alongside during Dorsey’s 2022 supervisor campaign and the 
recall of then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin that year.

“These are all new friends that I made in the last few years,” he said. 
“But you know what, they don’t fucking matter.”

Dorsey said he was “saddened” by the situation but felt better knowing 
Parina is alive.

“If he ever needs support or anything, it’s still there,” Dorsey said. “He 
didn’t need to make anything up to be appreciated in the community he 
worked hard to serve.”

‘My first family won’t have a damn thing to do with me’
Anthony Anderson, a former staff sergeant in the Army who created the 
website Guardian of Valor to identify people who lie about their military 
records, said the damage caused by Parina and other people of his ilk 
should not be taken lightly.

“When someone falsely claims to have served in the military or exaggerates 
their accomplishments, it not only undermines the sacrifices made by real 
veterans but also cheapens the value of the honors and awards they have 
earned,” said Anderson.

https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240119_070755-
1.jpg?w=640&q=75

Anderson also noted that the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 strictly prohibits 
people who lie about receiving certain medals for heroism in wars—such as 
a Purple Heart or Silver Star—from receiving benefits such as money or 
political favors.

“These awards are some of the highest honors a service member can receive, 
and they represent significant sacrifices made in service to their 
country,” Anderson said. “By falsely claiming these awards, Parina not 
only disrespected the veterans who have earned them but also took 
advantage of the public’s trust and admiration for those who have served.”

Parina made many false claims before disappearing in January, including 
that he attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory (he went to Bellarmine 
College Preparatory in San Jose) and that his ex-wife died of colon cancer 
in 2006 (she is still very much alive).

“My first family won’t have a damn thing to do with me,” Parina said 
Thursday.

William Slomanson, a Navy veteran who served two tours in Vietnam and now 
is a professor emeritus at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, 
compared the bizarre twists and turns in Parina’s story to New York’s 
disgraced former Rep. George Santos, who was found to have repeatedly lied 
about his resume before being elected to Congress and later expelled.

But even Santos never claimed to be a war hero.

“I suspect people in this type of situation are thinking, ‘I have a First 
Amendment right, and it’s a victimless crime,’” Slomanson said. “But every 
day I see somebody without a leg or an arm or blind [from war], I would 
point to those people.”

No one answered the door Thursday at Parina’s apartment on Post Street in 
San Francisco. When shown a picture of Parina, a security guard near the 
entrance of the building said he didn’t recognize the man.

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Josh Koehn can be reached at [email protected]
Annie Gaus can be reached at [email protected]


-- 
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.  
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed 
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.