Claims of Vietnam valor are part of Kerrville dispute

Nov. 28--KERRVILLE -- When Andy Phillips Sr. considered taking on Herbert C. Williamson III as a partner in a local real estate project, he recalled, Williamson's credentials as a decorated combat veteran influenced the decision.

Williamson's record of Vietnam valor included a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and he later rose to the rank of colonel in the Army Reserve, published biographies say.

A former banking and energy executive with a Harvard MBA, he often recounted dangerous exploits flying scout helicopter missions decades ago, Phillips said.

The men were close friends by the time Williamson invested $2 million in Keystone Estates, an upscale subdivision project Phillips initiated.

But doubts about whether Williamson ever set foot in Vietnam surfaced after their relationship imploded over Phillips' movement of $308,000 in Keystone funds to his own company, Hill Country Integrity Homes.

A criminal charge against Phillips, and dueling lawsuits in state and federal court, arose from the transactions that he called "loans" and signed as both borrower and lender.

Williamson called it "theft" and said Phillips' abuse of authority as Keystone's managing partner left it penniless.

In lawsuit depositions, Williamson claimed to have served in the Army from 1970 to 1973, rising to the rank of warrant officer and earning a Distinguished Flying Cross as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 1971.

He also said he served 30 years in the Army Reserve, retiring around 2003.

The Complete Marquis Who's Who lists him as serving in the those years and receiving the Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart for 1971 Vietnam service, an entry that the editor said Williamson submitted.

However, the National Personnel Records Center says Williamson served in the Army from March 12 until July 18, 1971, a period that corresponds with when the Connecticut National Guard reported that he was in basic training.

He served in Connecticut until August 1972 when he transferred, as a private first class, to the Maryland National Guard. He served there until joining the Georgia National Guard in April, 1974, records show.

Asked last year to address the inconsistencies, Williamson said, "When the litigation is over, I'll be glad to supply all sorts of information."

But the lawsuits were settled last month and Williamson, 64, who lives outside Kerrville, has declined to provide proof or clarifications. His lawyer suggests Williamson's military file is barred from release.

"A person's records may be classified or otherwise not available for public dissemination and may not be discussed," said Richard Mosty, who advised Williamson to not comment "on matters that are of no concern to others."

Williamson wasn't always so shy about his military record.

Among the events honoring veterans Williamson attended after moving from Houston to the Hill Country around 1999 was an event in Kimble County where, news reports say, he spoke on "the impact of the war experience on the development of the young men who served."

And the website of ZaZa Energy of Houston, where he's chairman of the board of directors, boasted of Williamson: "He is also a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve with military intelligence and civil affairs command positions."

The passage was deleted from Williamson's profile after his service record was questioned.

"The representations he made to me about his military career made an enormous impact on my decision to involve myself with him," said Phillips, 60.

After the partnership fell apart, Williamson's military claims and local politics influenced a decision to charge Phillips with misapplication of fiduciary property, said attorney Rick Ellison, who defended Phillips in that case.

Ellison said a video of Kerr County grand jury proceedings in 2010 depicts Williamson wearing what resembles a Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon while testifying.

"Being in the military, especially a combat veteran, and on top of that a war hero -- which is what he's really claiming -- gives somebody instant credibility," Ellison said.

He unsuccessfully sought a perjury investigation by local authorities, the state attorney general's staff and the FBI over Williamson's sworn remarks about his record.

"He never was in Vietnam, never flew helicopters, never got a Distinguished Flying Cross," Ellison said. "It's all a fabrication."

False claims of having received a Purple Heart are common, said Bill Bacon, a past national membership director of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, of which Williamson is not a member.

"We have to vet every application because we come across wannabes daily," said Bacon of Center Point.

The lawsuit in state court filed in 2010 by Williamson accused Phillips of breach of contract. It sought divestment of Phillips' interest in Keystone, plus damages from Hill Country Integrity Homes and Phicof LLC, the entity through which Phillips managed Keystone.

Horace Cofer, a partner in the businesses, said Phillips shouldn't have moved money from Keystone without Williamson's blessing.

"I lost a lot of money in Keystone," Cofer said. "It finally ended up going back to the bank."

The Keystone dispute also ensnared Amos Barton, then district attorney, and his investigator, Todd Burdick.

Phillips accused them in a 2011 federal lawsuit of maliciously conspiring to prosecute him for what was cast as a civil business dispute.

The lawsuit also claimed Williamson fast-tracked the criminal case with help from his father-son legal team, Richard Mosty, who was Barton's treasurer for his 2008 election campaign for DA against Ellison, and Dixon Mosty, who'd earlier served as a prosecutor under Barton.

Denying the claims, the defendants cited as proof of the criminal case's merit the no-contest plea that Phillips entered in 2010 to a substitute charge of theft by deception. The charge was filed against Phicof.

"Andy Phillips was prosecuted the same as every run-of-the-mill embezzler or thief: with aggressive professionalism," said Barton, who stepped down in January.

Phicof was fined $20,000, and $154,000 in restitution was ordered.

Phillips maintains the "loans" were within his authority to make but says he took the plea deal to avoid receiving a possible prison sentence at trial.

A federal judge dropped Barton from Phillips' suit in March, and dismissed most claims against Burdick, citing official immunity and the plea by Phicof, which declared bankruptcy in 2011.

The judge also said the Mostys couldn't be held liable for their actions as Williamson's counsel, a ruling that was under appeal until the settlement that prompted the dismissal of both lawsuits in October.

Court records show the no-fault pact calls for $17,500 to be paid by Williamson, $30,000 by the Mostys and $3,000 by Burdick -- or the money can be paid by insurers -- to the trustee in a personal bankruptcy case filed in June by Phillips.

"Insurance companies paid nuisance money because it is cheaper than continually defeating Phillips in court," Richard Mosty said of the settlement. "He lost at every turn, but his contingent fee lawyers did not cost him anything."

All the cash goes to creditors, according to Phillips, who said he's leaving Kerrville after losing almost everything since partnering with Williamson.

"The worst day of my life was the day that I was introduced to him," Phillips said.

[email protected]

___

(c)2013 the San Antonio Express-News

Visit the San Antonio Express-News at www.mysanantonio.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services