In a case that dates back to last year, a career Navy officer who was suspended from his position as the #2 man in control of the US nuclear submarine fleet and eventually lost said job has continued to deny that he was involved in a counterfeit poker chip ring despite the evidence presented in a thorough investigation.

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The officer, Vice Admiral Timothy Giardina (pictured), lost his position at US Strategic Command in September 2013 after allegations came to light that he was under suspicion of using counterfeit chips in an Iowa casino. This week, according to the Chicago Daily Herald, documents from investigators in the case demonstrate that Giardina’s DNA was found on an adhesive sticker that was affixed to a real $1 chip. The problem? That sticker changed the value of the chip from $1 to $500. Read our original story.

While Giardina has denied altering the chips, and instead said he bought them in a bathroom, other information has come forth that demonstrated how much poker the admiral had been playing. Prior to Giardina’s usage of three of those chips in a game in June 2013, the admiral spent approximately 1,100 hours on the poker tables in the 18 months before the incident. The investigation doesn’t reveal how much Giardina won or lost in that time, however.

Further investigation into the case against Giardina also shows that the Horseshoe didn’t exactly enforce their own rules regarding Giardina’s conduct. After using the counterfeit chips in June 2013, the Horseshoe and Harrah’s in Council Bluffs both put Giardina under a 90-day banishment. During that ban, however, Giardina is alleged to have returned to the Horseshoe poker room twice before it expired.

After the original 90-day ban ended in October, Giardina received a lifetime ban from the Horseshoe and its sister property, Harrah’s, by its ownership, Caesars Entertainment, and was days later kicked out of the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.

Because of his position with the US Strategic Command, Giardina had extensive knowledge of highly sensitive national security information that could have been compromised by his poker playing hobby. According to the Daily Herald, legal gambling by Strategic Command officers with high security clearances is not prohibited, but they are expected to report any “excessive debt” they might rack up to their superiors.

In the end, it was Giardina who lost more than just his money on the felt. The Navy did not charge the admiral with counterfeiting after an extensive investigation. Instead, the parties reached an agreement in May 2014 of two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. Those two counts – lying to NCIS investigators and passing fake chips – are court martial offenses, but Giardina plead guilty to avoid the proceeding. As a result of the plea deal, Giardina was only given a written reprimand and a $4,000 forfeiture in pay.

The Daily Herald stated that Navy officials chose the plea deal because they were not sure they could convict Giardina in a full court martial with limited evidence.

After being fired from the US Strategic Command in September 2013, Giardina was subsequently reduced in rank from a three-star to a two-star admiral. Instead of the prestigious position he once held with the US Strategic Command, Giardina now works in the Navy payroll department in Washington, DC as a staff officer.

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