Prior to conviction in Fort Hood massacre, Nidal Hasan gave nearly $300K away to charity
Corrected: Convicted last month of 13 counts of murder in the 2009 shooting massacre at Fort Hood, while serving as a major in the U.S. Army, defendant Nidal Hasan is now battling a civil suit along with the government.
But his military take-home pay of some $7,000 a month, which he received, while imprisoned, prior to his death sentence, likely won’t be available as damages. That’s because he gave almost all of it away to charity, reports the Associated Press.
Similarly, even though Hasan is required by his sentence to forfeit all military pay, the Army isn’t likely to be able to recover any of the $300,000 or so he earned while awaiting his court-martial, either. When arrested, Hasan’s belongings were minimal and included mainly a table, folding chair and a prayer mat.
“The great bulk of his income has been donated to charity,” said his attorney, John Galligan. “There’s really virtually no money in any bank that I’m aware of. There’s really no property holdings.”
“We have no way of knowing what he did with that money,” said attorney Reed Rubinstein, who is representing plaintiffs in the case. “It’s quite possible and likely that the money is long gone.”
Another goal of the civil litigation, which was filed last November in federal court in Washington, D.C., by 83 survivors and victims’ families, is to get the massacre classified as an act of terrorism, rather than workplace violence, by the military. If those slain and wounded were considered to have been in combat, that would result in increased benefits and better medical care, according to the plaintiffs.
See also:
CNN: “As Hasan trial starts, Fort Hood victims feel betrayed”
Reuters (2012): “Fort Hood shooting victims sue government, accused shooter”
Updated at 12:12 p.m. to correct the date given for the Fort Hood shooting.
