For a guy called “Rambo” this soldier of fortune’s a real crybaby.
A former US Army soldier nicknamed “Rambo” — who the feds allege led a squadron of elite ex-military personnel that plotted to assassinate a federal DEA agent -– teared up and nearly broke down minutes before appearing before a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday, his lawyer told reporters afterwards.
“I think he’s very afraid,” said lawyer Marlon Kirton, who said he spoke privately with Former US Army Sgt. Joseph “Rambo” Hunter and that the ex-soldier was so distraught that he was “almost weeping, his “lips were quivering” and appeared to be wiping what looked to be tears from his eyes.
“He has some mental issues related to his service,” said Kirton, adding he thinks his client might be suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder due to his military service that included a tour in Iraq.
Kirton during the conference also told Judge Laura Taylor Swain that he’s “very concerned” about the 48-year-old Hunter’s “mental and emotional health.”
Swain later said that if the Bureau of Prisons doesn’t conduct a mental and physical health evaluation of Hunter in the next week she’d consider requests to issue a court order.
Led by Hunter, the international crew of veteran snipers and ex-counter-intelligence officers formed a security detail and hit squad for a supposed crew of heavyweight Colombian drug smugglers, who were working with authorities, the feds said.
The bloody band of brothers arrested also included former US Army Sgt. Timothy Vamvakias, former German corporal and deadly sniper Dennis “Nico” Gogel, former Polish counter-terrorism expert Slawomir Soboroski, and former German military sniper Michael Filter.
They have been charged with conspiracy, attempting to import cocaine and plotting to kill a law enforcement agent.
A stone-faced Hunter sat quietly on Monday while Vamvakias and Gogel pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hunter previously pleaded not guilty on Saturday.
Soboroski and Filter were busted in Estonia and are awaiting extradition to the United States.
They all face life in prison if convicted.
Gogel’s lawyer, Edward Wilford, afterwards said the the case smells of “entrapment” and called it a waste of federal tax dollars especially in light of the significant budgetary belt tightening taking place because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Hunter served in the US Army from 1983 to 2004 before becoming a contract killer who successfully arranged several slayings outside the United States, the indictment says without giving details.
A DEA informant posed as a drug trafficker and proposed to Hunter and his team that they kill a DEA agent and a boat captain providing information to US law enforcement authorities, claiming it was necessary because there was a leak within the narcotics trafficking organization, according to the indictment.
Audio and video recordings captured Hunter talking about “bonus jobs” of contract killings, claiming the men he recruited wanted as much work as possible, and when assassinations of a federal agent and an informant were proposed, Hunter “didn’t flinch at the chance,” authorities said.