Relief for a Disabled USMC Veteran
Donation protected
First let me introduce myself. My name is Michael Russo. I am a Marine Corps vet who served from 2001 to 2005. I participated in the 2004/2005 Battle of Fallujah (Phantom Fury 1and 2) alongside my Marine Corps, Navy and Army brothers, many of whom did not make it home. My oldest daughter Madison was born while I was on the USS Essex (31st MEU) in the Persian Gulf. I am also the father to Zoe my beautiful little blonde daughter, both of whom I love dearly.
********** The picture above is me holding my beautiful baby girl Maddy for the very first time.
I joined the Marines on September 11th in order to fight for my country because I thought that was the right thing to do. After I was discharged from active duty I started a custom automotive business building high performance and custom vehicles.
My business was successful but after a couple of years of starting it I began having problems with the local municipality. Essentially they tried to extort over $100k from me using various manipulative (and probably illegal) tactics. They must have thought that every successful business owner wanted to give money to the local government. In the end I was forced to close my business down in that city.
This led to the problems I am facing now. When I remodeled my garage and added a small room on it so I could work from home until I saved up to buy another building, the city I live in (which adjoins the city my business was formerly located in) started to give me problems. Even though at the time and under the circumstances I did my best to comply with the city ordinances, however what began as a simple issue with a building permit exploded into me being put under surveillance for over 2 months, arrested by a police tactical team twice, charged with a felony and being held in jail for over 5 months. The way the police handled this was because I am a combat vet, a Marine combat vet. This is what I was told directly by law enforcement, the court, a and lawyers from both sides.
For being a vet, or maybe for being outspoken about government abuses a and overreach and for not behaving fearfully when dealing with the city and the police, I have been harassed and persecuted to where everything I have ever loved has been taken from me. My business is essentially no more (I will start it again though and rebuild my reputation), most of my valuable property has been seized by the police and local government, and my body is broken (some from the Marines but mostly from the arrest’s and the subsequent refusals from the police and the jail for medical treatment when my spine was severely injured by the cops). This has also directly led to the ultimate failure of my marriage and the subsequent loss of my children. Currently my life is now living with chronic pain and barely being able to do basic tasks to care for myself. I am living with a friend because my home is uninhabitable and I often need help taking care of things.
For the last 3 years every time I had tried to get up, every time I have tried to rebuild what was lost or stolen from me, the city and the police would arrest me and lock me up again. I have spent almost a year in jail for zoning issues. I have fought until I couldn’t fight any more. Financially, physically and even emotionally I am spent.
Before all of this I had no criminal record. I don’t do illegal drugs and I hardly even drank. I was a productive and positive member of society who owned a business, created jobs, was involved in my community and taught free firearm safety classes. I was involved in politics and working to make Michigan a better, freer place for all of its citizens. When I was in Iraq I saw its citizen’s vote for the very first time. They were not voting for political parties or government benefits. What they voted for was The Rule of Law. They did this because for many years they lived in what was a lawless society. They knew the Rule of Law could provide the security and the predictability that is necessary for them to live their lives peaceably and free. The Rule of Law is necessary for any society to function and for those societies’ inhabitants to have a good quality of life. This influenced many of my actions from being involved in politics, to asserting my rights and standing on and arguing the law when the government’s actions were otherwise lawless.
My life will get better and I will rebuild, but for now I need help. I am embarrassed that I have to take a knee and ask for this help. Because of my own pride I have tried to avoid asking for help until now. Due to these challenges, I am currently homeless. I still own my home, for now at least, but the utilities have been shut off. I have been trying to get my disability increased in order to be able to have enough money for the basic necessities but that takes time, as all vets going through the VA know. I am positive I will be re-rated appropriately.
I need help to get my utilities turned back on, paying for food, getting my property back from the police, and help with registering my vehicles so I can drive to the VA and have independence again. I also need help with basic living expenses until my disability increase is approved. No money will ever be wasted on non essentials and I promise not to eat too much. This money will help me regain my independence and to help me move forward.
I am currently working with other vets (in Illinois currently) to help bring awareness to the problems vets face when they deal with government and especially with law enforcement and the courts. I hope that by doing this the misunderstandings that occur between vets and police and police overreactions when dealing with us can be eliminated. I am also making future plans to open up a sanctuary for vets who need to just get away for awhile. A place where they can even bring their families and live in a natural environment, working the land, caring for animals, riding horses and even showing their kids and wives some of the skills we learned from our time in the military and even in combat such as shooting and survival skills. I want to create a positive environment where vets can share their experiences in a healthy and positive environment instead of keeping everything locked up inside as we so often do until it hurts us. I want this place to be where vets can talk to other vets who have gone through the same things and even for their families to meet other families who often have to go through these challenges with their husbands and fathers. I know when I came home my wife tried to help me to “really” come home by encouraging me to refocus on our new baby, family life and my new business. However I often found myself “back there” and I think that had we had a place like this available in Michigan to connect with other vets and their families it would have been better than us trying to cope alone.
********** The picture above is me holding my beautiful baby girl Maddy for the very first time.
I joined the Marines on September 11th in order to fight for my country because I thought that was the right thing to do. After I was discharged from active duty I started a custom automotive business building high performance and custom vehicles.
My business was successful but after a couple of years of starting it I began having problems with the local municipality. Essentially they tried to extort over $100k from me using various manipulative (and probably illegal) tactics. They must have thought that every successful business owner wanted to give money to the local government. In the end I was forced to close my business down in that city.
This led to the problems I am facing now. When I remodeled my garage and added a small room on it so I could work from home until I saved up to buy another building, the city I live in (which adjoins the city my business was formerly located in) started to give me problems. Even though at the time and under the circumstances I did my best to comply with the city ordinances, however what began as a simple issue with a building permit exploded into me being put under surveillance for over 2 months, arrested by a police tactical team twice, charged with a felony and being held in jail for over 5 months. The way the police handled this was because I am a combat vet, a Marine combat vet. This is what I was told directly by law enforcement, the court, a and lawyers from both sides.
For being a vet, or maybe for being outspoken about government abuses a and overreach and for not behaving fearfully when dealing with the city and the police, I have been harassed and persecuted to where everything I have ever loved has been taken from me. My business is essentially no more (I will start it again though and rebuild my reputation), most of my valuable property has been seized by the police and local government, and my body is broken (some from the Marines but mostly from the arrest’s and the subsequent refusals from the police and the jail for medical treatment when my spine was severely injured by the cops). This has also directly led to the ultimate failure of my marriage and the subsequent loss of my children. Currently my life is now living with chronic pain and barely being able to do basic tasks to care for myself. I am living with a friend because my home is uninhabitable and I often need help taking care of things.
For the last 3 years every time I had tried to get up, every time I have tried to rebuild what was lost or stolen from me, the city and the police would arrest me and lock me up again. I have spent almost a year in jail for zoning issues. I have fought until I couldn’t fight any more. Financially, physically and even emotionally I am spent.
Before all of this I had no criminal record. I don’t do illegal drugs and I hardly even drank. I was a productive and positive member of society who owned a business, created jobs, was involved in my community and taught free firearm safety classes. I was involved in politics and working to make Michigan a better, freer place for all of its citizens. When I was in Iraq I saw its citizen’s vote for the very first time. They were not voting for political parties or government benefits. What they voted for was The Rule of Law. They did this because for many years they lived in what was a lawless society. They knew the Rule of Law could provide the security and the predictability that is necessary for them to live their lives peaceably and free. The Rule of Law is necessary for any society to function and for those societies’ inhabitants to have a good quality of life. This influenced many of my actions from being involved in politics, to asserting my rights and standing on and arguing the law when the government’s actions were otherwise lawless.
My life will get better and I will rebuild, but for now I need help. I am embarrassed that I have to take a knee and ask for this help. Because of my own pride I have tried to avoid asking for help until now. Due to these challenges, I am currently homeless. I still own my home, for now at least, but the utilities have been shut off. I have been trying to get my disability increased in order to be able to have enough money for the basic necessities but that takes time, as all vets going through the VA know. I am positive I will be re-rated appropriately.
I need help to get my utilities turned back on, paying for food, getting my property back from the police, and help with registering my vehicles so I can drive to the VA and have independence again. I also need help with basic living expenses until my disability increase is approved. No money will ever be wasted on non essentials and I promise not to eat too much. This money will help me regain my independence and to help me move forward.
I am currently working with other vets (in Illinois currently) to help bring awareness to the problems vets face when they deal with government and especially with law enforcement and the courts. I hope that by doing this the misunderstandings that occur between vets and police and police overreactions when dealing with us can be eliminated. I am also making future plans to open up a sanctuary for vets who need to just get away for awhile. A place where they can even bring their families and live in a natural environment, working the land, caring for animals, riding horses and even showing their kids and wives some of the skills we learned from our time in the military and even in combat such as shooting and survival skills. I want to create a positive environment where vets can share their experiences in a healthy and positive environment instead of keeping everything locked up inside as we so often do until it hurts us. I want this place to be where vets can talk to other vets who have gone through the same things and even for their families to meet other families who often have to go through these challenges with their husbands and fathers. I know when I came home my wife tried to help me to “really” come home by encouraging me to refocus on our new baby, family life and my new business. However I often found myself “back there” and I think that had we had a place like this available in Michigan to connect with other vets and their families it would have been better than us trying to cope alone.
Organizer
Michael Russo
Organizer
Madison Heights, MI
