The Navy SEAL who admitted to killing a Green Beret in Mali in 2017 has hired one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers to help reduce his 10-year prison sentence.
Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, a Special Forces soldier assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group. DeDolph also pleaded guilty to hazing, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice for trying to cover up the cause of Melgar's death.
A military jury sentenced DeDolph, a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, to 10 years in prison, and he was also hit with a reduction in rank to E-1, forfeiture of his pay and allowances, and will be dishonorably discharged.
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But an appeals court overturned the sentence in 2022 after it came to light his defense team didn’t know one of the witnesses asked for clemency as part of his deal to testify against DeDolph. In anticipation of a new sentencing hearing, DeDolph has called in high-profile defense attorney Tim Parlatore to help with his case.
A white-collar defense attorney, Parlatore represents former President Trump in the special counsel investigation into his handling of classified material and the investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He has also represented organized crime figures, Bernard Kerik—the former New York City police commissioner who plead guilty to tax fraud—and two daredevils who parachuted from the World Trade Center. But his most high-profile military client was Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was accused of war crimes. Gallagher, a former member of SEAL Team 7, faced a court martial for war crimes charges including murder but was only convicted of posing for a picture with a dead body.
“Obviously I've built a reputation within the special operations community of winning,” said Parlatore, a graduate of the Naval Academy who served in the Navy before earning his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.
Parlatore confirmed DeDolph is out of prison while awaiting a new sentencing but would not disclose his location. It is unclear how DeDolph, who was reduced to the Navy’s lowest rank when he pleaded guilty and has already served some of his sentence, has the money to pay for a New York criminal defense attorney. When asked, Parlatore declined to “discuss finances” but confirmed he is working at a discounted rate.
“Am I getting paid full freight? Absolutely not,” Parlatore said. “Am I in this to make money? No. This is not the case that is going to pay my rent.”
DeDolph was part of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as Seal Team 6. He and Melgar were part of an intelligence operation in Mali supporting counterterrorism efforts against al Qaeda’s local affiliate, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in 2017.
DeDolph told a military judge he and the other men were avenging a “perceived slight” after Melgar left them to attend a party at the French Embassy in Mali’s capital city of Bamako. DeDolph’s job during the hazing incident was to place Melgar in a “rear naked choke” that restricts blood flow in the neck.
DeDolph said the attack was intended to be a joke and the severity escalated during a night of drinking. But Michelle, Melgar’s widow, was one of the first to alert authorities about inconsistencies in the SEAL's statements, including lying about her husband being drunk.
DeDolph was the third of four defendants to plead guilty in the case. Navy SEAL Adam Matthews, 33, pleaded guilty to hazing and assault charges and attempts to cover up what happened to Melgar. Before he was sentenced, Matthews hit on Melgar's widow at a Las Vegas gun show. He was sentenced in May 2019 to one year in military prison. Marine Raider Kevin Maxwell, 29, was sentenced to four years of confinement after pleading guilty to negligent homicide, hazing, and making false official statements in June 2019. The fourth defendant—Marine Raider Mario Madera-Rodriguez—was convicted and sentenced in 2021 to six months in confinement, hard labor, and a reduction in rank.
But a military appeals court last year overturned DeDolph’s 10-year sentence after Navy prosecutors failed to disclose that Maxwell, who took part in the hazing and later testified against DeDolph, had asked for clemency in exchange for his testimony. Specifically, Maxwell asked for two years instead of the four he got. The SEAL’s defense attorneys missed the chance to question Maxwell about a “potential motive to misrepresent events,” according to the appeals court. His sentence was later reduced from four years to three years. “The fact that (Maxwell) sought additional clemency... in exchange for his testimony is clearly information that tended to demonstrate (his) bias, and bore on his credibility,” the appeals court wrote. ″(T)here is a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the trial would have been affected by the disclosure of the clemency request.”
Parlatore is focused on reducing DeDolph’s sentence.
“This case at this stage is all about making sure that he gets an appropriate sentence,” he said. “There was no intent to kill. This was unfortunately an incident that went badly. So, what is there to win? Making sure that a good man who is involved in a mistake doesn't lose the rest of his life by spending 10 years in jail. Getting him back with his family and getting him back to a position where he could be a good contributing member of society.”
The re-sentencing is currently docketed for the first week of June, according to a Navy spokesperson, but Parlatore says it is unlikely to be held that quickly. He is still working to gain a security clearance that will allow him to review court records and evidence.
“There are complicating factors,” Parlatore said. “We're of course negotiating to see if we can work out a deal to do it in a much simpler manner. But to the extent that it's going to be a full contested hearing before Christmas, maybe.”
Melgar’s widow, Michelle, rejected the idea that DeDolph should get a lesser sentence, arguing in a statement to The Daily Beast that it is her husband who suffered an injustice.
“Tony and his wife will have a chance to live life together again, while Logan’s life and our time together, on Earth, was cut short,” Michelle Melgar said. “Tony’s situation is temporary. Our situation is permanent.”
