Man gets year and day for impersonating federal officer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida man who lied about being a federal law enforcement agent and army sergeant who earned a Purple Heart medal has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports 29-year-old Simon Emilio Zablah was sentenced Monday. He pleaded guilty last year to multiple counts, including impersonating a federal officer.

Zablah told the judge that he was deeply sorry for what he had done.

Prosecutors say Zablah went AWOL from the U.S. Army about two weeks after he enlisted in January 2005.

Investigators say he told people he was a veteran, an agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a member of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Court records show he often wore a military uniform that got him special treatment including free meals.