The Aurora Public Schools Board director and state legislative candidate under scrutiny for his criminal background and numerous misrepresentations to voters and employers has also represented himself as a retired Air Force officer at public events, on social media, on his resumé and in at least one press release, despite having only served eight weeks in the Air Force before being discharged, an investigation by The Colorado Statesman has discovered.

Eric Durane Nelson, 37, is one of two Aurora Democrats running for the House District 42 seat currently represented by a term-limited state Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, who is seeking a Senate seat this year. Nelson was elected to the school board in 2013 and serves as the secretary.

In a series of exclusive reports this week, The Statesman has documented Nelson’s extensive criminal history, an annulment one of his wives sought because he was married to another woman at the same time, crude forgeries of diplomas he sent The Statesman in an effort to prove he’d obtained certain advanced degrees and a rebuke from the state Division of insurance for his “failure to demonstrate that you are competent, trustworthy and of good moral character.”

The campaign committee dedicated to electing House Democrats has asked Nelson to withdraw from the House race, a request echoed by Fields and House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder. The school board president and vice president have demanded that Nelson prove that he holds the degrees listed on his biography on the APS website and have said they plan to review allegations against him.

Nelson, for his part, is standing firm and firing back at skeptics and critics.

“Political attacks will not distract nor will I be dismayed from championing the issues that my community has locally elected me to do and will do if elected to the state level,” he wrote in a lengthy response posted on social media and sent to supporters on Wednesday. “As a man of faith, quitting is simply not allowed.”

In his statement, Nelson attempted to rebut most of the questions that have been raised about his background and veracity. Responding to reporting by The Statesman that he has described himself as a veteran and was fond of posting photos of himself wearing an Air Force officer’s uniform on social media, he wrote: “The photograph of me in uniform is from my past. My service record speaks for itself. At no time have I posed in uniform inappropriately during my campaign for the school board nor for house district 42.”

Nelson was referring to a photograph of him wearing an Air Force major’s uniform that had appeared on his Facebook page and was reproduced by The Colorado Statesman.

Despite Nelson’s protestation, however, that photograph and others like it were posted to his Facebook page at least as recently as December 2014, nearly a full year after he had won election to the school board, according to documentation obtained by The Statesman.

In another photograph Nelson had posted to social media at the same time, Nelson is wearing the same officer’s uniform with a solemn expression as he contemplates a grave.

The photographs appear to have been removed from Nelson’s Facebook page, although it’s impossible to determine when that happened.

Nelson claims that his “service record speaks for itself,” but his service record is brief.

Whether the photograph was “from [his] past” or not, Nelson was discharged as an enlisted man – without having attained the rank of major – on June 18, 1998, after serving just eight weeks in the Air Force, according to Department of Defense records uncovered exclusively by The Statesman.

In a telephone interview with The Statesman on Monday, Nelson confirmed that he’d only served the brief period and said he was “honorably discharged” after basic training, following the diagnosis of a chronic illness.

He didn’t respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Nelson didn’t just represent himself as an Air Force officer graphically. According to a resumé Nelson sent to employers and other organizations and a press release issued by a networking organization to announce Nelson’s appointment to a leadership position, he described himself as an Air Force officer and listed details of his purported service.

In a resumé Nelson was circulating in December 2012, he describes himself as “a troubleshooter, self-starter and I am eager to face new challenges.”

He also says his military experience includes service in the “U.S. Air Force” as a “Captain / Special Tactics Officer / Special Tactics Operations Command Unit,” both active-duty and reserve.

In resumé fashion, Nelson lists under his Air Force experience: “? Commanded a flight of enlisted personnel and ran base operations” and “? Received multiple commendations for distinguished service to the United States.”

In a press release dated Dec. 6, 2011, LeTip International CEO Kim Marie Branch-Pettid announced that Nelson was the new regional director for Colorado for the business leads organization.

“Nelson, a visionary and an entrepreneur, is a natural networker,” the release said. “He brings a refreshing perspective to his region and combines it with considerable sales savvy.”

He also brought an impressive resumé to his new position, although in 2011 he was just listing three degrees – a bachelor’s in psychology, an MBA and a doctorate in organizational psychology – and they were all from Southeastern University in Washington D.C., an institution of higher learning that was closed down in 2009. (His current resumé lists four degrees, although his MBA is supposedly from Northeastern University, and he claims to have received a master’s in social work from Northwest Nazarene University in 1999. Both of those institutions say Nelson never attended and didn’t earn any degrees from them.)

Following his educational achievements, Nelson’s resumé declares: “He served as an Officer in the U.S. Air Force and is a member of the American Legion Post 30.”

(Although membership in Masonic organizations doesn’t appear on Nelson’s current resumé, his 2011 version boasted a lengthy list: “An active Free Mason, Dr. Nelson is a member of The Holy Royal Arch (PHA), Knights Templar (PHA), Shriner (PHA), and Scottish Rite Mason (Denver Consistory) which all includes charitable work and community involvement. He is also a Life member of the Scottish Rite Foundation for Youth.”)

It’s no small matter to impersonate a military officer.

In fact, there’s a federal law against fasely representing military service or awards – the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 – although it’s only a crime if it leads to some benefit, an officer in the legal affairs office at Buckley Air Force Base told The Statesman.

Major Marie Calabrese noted that merely claiming service or awards isn’t illegal – to the relief of Halloween revelers everywhere – but that federal prosecutors would have to determine an impersonator obtained a benefit. She speculated that winning votes or securing employment might qualify but said it could be hard to prove and was probably untested legal waters.

She noted that wearing the ribbons that appear on Nelson’s uniform count as claiming awards or medals.

Even if they were really his, they weren’t affixed properly, appear to be randomly selected and some of them, in the assessment of a retired Air Force general, aren’t even Air Force ribbons.

That’s according to an acquaintance in the company of Arapahoe County Commissioner Bill Holen when he discussed Nelson’s supposed military exploits with The Statesman in a telephone interview.

Holen said he feels sorry for Nelson.

Holen is a Vietnam veteran with an additional decade’s service in the Colorado Air National Guard and an expert on veterans and military affairs. He handled the topics for U.S. Sen. Gary Hart and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter for years and recently put together an influential study on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman.

“He’s misrepresented himself in many, many areas,” Holen said. “He’s apparently a very bright young man, but truthfulness is an issue that is very important for your character. You lose your integrity, you lose everything.”

Holen said it was hard to enumerate all the problems with Nelson’s garb, beyond whether he could legitimately wear it or not.

“He’s wearing the wrong kind of hat,” Holden said, examining a photograph of Nelson in the Air Force major’s uniform. “I don’t know that he has the medals in the right place, and some of those are from other services.” After consulting with the retired general, Holen added, “Clearly he’s supposed to be a major, so he’s not considered a field-grade officer. That’s another big mistake he made.”

“I guess you can go and buy this stuff,” Holen said, sounding weary. “But there is a specific procedure you have to adhere to. To get it even a little bit wrong you’re out of compliance with Air Force regulations.”

Turning to broader questions about Nelson, he said, “It’s a federal crime to impersonate military service, and there’s a lot of wackos out there that do that. As a disabled veteran from Vietnam, to make these kind of claims is a disrespect to those who fought and particularly those who died in military service and I’m frankly outraged by it.”

Mary Schantag, chairman of the POW Network and the Fake Warriors Project, an organization that researches and publicly shames “military imposters,” had the same reaction.

“Sadly, he is not the first nor the last politician to make exaggerated claims,” she told The Statesman. “It is a travesty when they feel the need to make military claims that are not borne out by military records. Many spilled blood and died for the recognition they now receive as a hero and a veteran. No one should tarnish that legacy, simply for political aspirations. These liars should be punished to the full extent of the law.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com