Marine Reserve Colonel Accused of Taking Girlfriend on Military Trips

A lieutenant colonel in the Marine Reserves took his girlfriend on military trips to Europe by dressing her in a uniform and issuing her military identification, a federal grand jury has charged in an indictment.

Alan Benjamin Cassalia, 51, a reserve officer for almost 30 years, was indicted last week on charges of conspiracy and tampering with military orders.

“With respect to this case, all he wanted to do was to take his girlfriend for a drive,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Carlos A. Martir Jr.

But he said Cassalia is being prosecuted to the fullest “because of the potential (the case) had for breaches in the national security.”

Martir said the woman, who has been granted immunity for her testimony, told officials she had been aboard a top-secret surveillance plane used for radar espionage and other high-security projects but is uncertain if she traveled to Europe with Cassalia in that plane.

According to Martir, Cassalia outfitted Lauren Roache in a military uniform and issued her a military identification card and official orders for trips to Rota, Spain, and Lajer, Azores. The alleged trips were between Feb. 3, 1980, and July 30, 1983, Martir said.

After her relationship with Cassalia ended in 1984, Roache wrote a letter to the Marine Corps Recruiting Office in Boston outlining the situation, Martir said.

Cassalia denied the charges.