An outspoken anti-crime advocate in San Francisco appears to have faked his own death, after fabricating many details of his life including his military service record.
Richard Parina, 78, claimed to be a retired Army brigadier general with three Purple Hearts, and supposedly died last month as a result of lingering injuries suffered during the Persian Gulf War.
That service record appears to be entirely bogus, and there are no public records confirming Parina’s death, according to a lengthy investigation published by the San Francisco Standard on Thursday.
The outlet alleged that nearly every verifiable claim Parina made about his life was fabricated, including his supposed 21 military medals and the $1.3 million he’d purportedly raised for a political action committee to support local candidates.
‘I can’t figure out why someone would do this,’ said San Francisco board of supervisors member Matt Dorsey, whose campaign Parina supported as a volunteer, upon learning the results of the Standard’s investigation.
San Francisco anti-crime activist Richard Parina (right) has been accused of faking his own death and lying about his military career as an Army brigadier general
Congressional records reviewed by DailyMail.com do not list the nomination of a Richard Parina for brigadier general, a procedure that is required for all flag officers
Parina’s supposed death was announced on X by a person claiming to be his 70-year-old nephew named ‘Richard Francis’.
Late Thursday, Francis also slammed the Standard’s investigation as a ‘mostly false hatchet job’ and insisted that Parina’s supposed widow would provide his death certificate as soon as she returned from vacation on Monday.
‘Rick’s widow would have provided that but she is on vacation, and that document is locked up in her safety deposit box,’ wrote Francis.
The Standard said that Parina’s daughter confirmed in a text message that he did not have a 70-year-old nephew named Richard, and was unable to locate any public records or published obituary confirming Parina’s death.
The outlet also said it received emails from someone who gave the name ‘Joslin Clooney Parina’ and claimed to be Parina’s widow. No records exist of such a person living in San Francisco.
Before his purported death, Parina was often seen joining volunteer groups to clean up litter from the streets of San Francisco.
He was also an outspoken backer for the successful 2022 campaign to recall progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was accused of going soft on crime.
San Francisco board of supervisors member Matt Dorsey (center), whose campaign Parina (third from left) supported as a volunteer, was shocked to learn of the allegations
Parina was often seen joining volunteer groups to clean up litter from the streets of San Francisco, and backed the recall of progressive DA Chesa Boudin
Parina was last seen publicly on January 17, when he attended a District 9 supervisorial debate at the Mission District bar El Rio.
At the meeting, Parina said he no longer had time for social media and handed out cards with his direct contact information, and that night his accounts on X and NextDoor disappeared, according to the Standard.
The following day ‘Richard Francis’ posted on X: ‘My uncle, Brigadier General (ret) Richard Parina died on Janauary 17, 2024, the 33rd Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, where he commanded the 175th Forward Supply Battalion, attached to the 1st Armored Division. He was awarded his third Purple Heart and second Bronze Star.’
Congressional records reviewed by DailyMail.com do not list the nomination of a Richard Parina for brigadier general, a procedure that is required for all flag officers.
The US Army’s Human Resources Command told the Standard it had no record of a Richard Parina ever serving at all, despite his claim to be a combat veteran of both the Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War.
Parina’s ex-wife, whom he had claimed died from colon cancer in 2006, told the outlet that she was in fact alive, and said Parina served in the ROTC during college.
However, after he tore a knee ligament on a ski trip, he did not join the military and never went to Vietnam, she said.
‘For somebody to claim that they earned a Silver Star or a Purple Heart, it’s kind of like a punch in the gut, because I know what it takes,’ Anthony Anderson, a retired staff sergeant who created the website Guardian of Valor, told The Standard.
‘I know what these men and women have gone through to earn these [medals], either while they’re alive or posthumously.’
Anderson noted that the Hall of Valor project, lists nearly everyone who has received the Silver Star and other significant military awards, does not name Parina.
Parina was last seen publicly on January 17, when he attended a District 9 supervisorial debate at the Mission District bar El Rio
The person claiming to be Parina’s nephew slammed the Standard’s investigation
Parina also claimed that he had raised $1.3 million from wealthy donors for a political group called Catholic Alumni PAC, and planned to back local political candidates with the funds.
None of the required paperwork to create Catholic Alumni PAC appears to have been filed, and the promises of lavish campaign donations now seem full of hot air.
Stephen Martin-Pinto, who is running for the board of supervisors on a public safety platform, told the Standard that Parina had pledged some $15,000 worth of donations to his campaign for supervisor.
‘He told me he was going to get me 30 $500 checks,’ Martin-Pinto said. ‘That was in November or December. Then he died, or is purported to have died.’
Parina’s purported widow told The Standard in an email that he ‘may have stolen some valor,’ but he was ‘making amends for his past sins by doing volunteer work in the community.’
‘Was he perfect? Absolutely not!’ the person wrote. ‘He was a borderline narcissist that needed to boost his reputation for reasons that are deeply psychological. … But I never knew a kinder and more generous man.’