Man's prestigious accomplishments were fictitious

On paper, it was a wonderful life.

Thomas R. Dahlberg, 41, of Jeannette, claimed to have done it all. He said he was a two-star general, CIA agent, attorney, author and syndicated columnist, computer expert, college professor and Pulitzer Prize nominee.

But sadly, Dahlberg's life was the stuff of dreams.

Dahlberg, who died Monday, wrote his own obituary, which family members gave to the Kepple-Graft Funeral Home in Greensburg. He crafted a story that took him from his 1979 graduation at Greensburg Central Catholic High School to some of the nation's most prestigious universities, through a brilliant military career and into important jobs in government and in the legal, academic and technological communities.

He claimed to have attained the honor of knighthood and identified himself in his obituary as "Dr. Sir Thomas R. Dahlberg." In addition, he claimed to have earned the rank of major general in the Army, as well as post-graduate degrees from some of the nation's leading universities.

However, his death certificate listed his occupation as "disabled." Discharge papers indicated he had left the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. And much of his educational background is fictitious, according to university representatives.

His mother, Patricia Dahlberg, said her son was being treated by a psychiatrist for the past two years and was taking medication at the time of his death. She said she had no way of determining what was fact or fiction in her son's life.

"All I did was put in what Tom asked me," she said.

"If we knew something was incorrect, we wouldn't have published it," said his sister, Colleen Kerila, of Pittsburgh. "If it's untrue, I'm not going to put it in. We apologize. We didn't do this on purpose. Should we have shined a light in his eyes and pressed him• Maybe."

Dahlberg's body was found in the family room of his mother's home, according to reports from police and the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office. The coroner's office is awaiting results of an autopsy and toxicology tests before issuing a ruling on the cause of death.

State police were called to the home on North Drive, Hempfield Township, about 10 p.m. Sunday, according to Coroner Ken Bacha. He said there were no signs of injuries or foul play. Dahlberg was pronounced dead later at Westmoreland Regional Hospital in Greensburg.

Bacha said psychiatric medications were retrieved from the residence, prompting his office to request toxicology tests to determine whether drugs or medications caused Dahlberg's death.

Terence Graft, who is handling the arrangements for Dahlberg's funeral, said Dahlberg came to him several months ago and gave him a computer disk indicating his final wishes, which included a military tribute and placement of his jump boots and an M-16 automatic rifle turned upside down near his casket.

Graft said family told him Dahlberg's academic and professional credentials were camouflaged to protect what he did for the CIA.

"The guy was brilliant," Graft said.

Obituary information given to Graft appeared in Thursday's Tribune-Review, along with a photograph of Dahlberg in a military uniform bearing insignias of the U.S. Army Rangers and Special Forces, numerous service ribbons and patches indicating he had completed jump school and jungle school.

Officials from the Army, Department of Defense and Special Operations Command could not immediately verify Dahlberg's rank. However, military officials said it was unlikely that someone so young could have been promoted to the rank of major general.

After graduating from Greensburg Central Catholic in 1979, Dahlberg went to Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in administration of justice in 1984. Spokesman Gary Cramer said Dahlberg did not earn a master's degree from the university that year as well, contrary to information listed in the obituary.

Dahlberg earned a law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1987, according to a university spokeswoman who could not immediately confirm his claims to have edited two law reviews.

Dahlberg also claimed to have earned a doctoral degree from Stanford University in California while participating in the Sloan Fellow program. Sally Pierce, a spokeswoman for the program, said he did not earn the degree, nor did he participate in the Sloan Fellow program, which offers a master's degree in science and management under corporate sponsorships.

Finally, Dahlberg indicated he'd earned a master of arts degree in 1986 from Georgetown University. A spokeswoman in the registrar's office said her records indicated he did not.

Dahlberg also said he was named one of the top 100 attorneys in the nation by the National Law Journal and a 1993 nominee for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1992.

A spokesman for the National Law Journal could not confirm that Dahlberg ever had been selected for the list. The American Bar Association also did not include Dahlberg in a listing of its members

A spokesman for the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia University in New York City said the committee has only the names of nominees who were finalists for the prize. The list does not include Dahlberg.

As for his royal title, Graft said the family told him Dahlberg received a certificate from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which is the reason he used the appellation of "Sir" before his name.

Dahlberg also claimed to have been the author of several books and a syndicated columnist in 220 newspapers. An Internet search revealed one 1996 book written by Peter Kent and Thomas R. Dahlberg, "Using Netscape 3." No other publications were found.

In 1992, Dahlberg penned one article in the Washington Times claiming that the Greensburg-based 14th Quartermaster Detachment was being shipped back to Saudi Arabia after suffering horrendous casualties in the first Persian Gulf War. The article brought quick rebuttal by military officials who dismissed the story as "completely false, erroneous, bogus."

Dahlberg also claimed to have worked as an "operations generalist for the CIA" and as a software engineer, media manager, chief information officer and distinguished scientist for a number of companies.

His mother said she didn't know much about her son's life because he had lived in California for many years. He moved back to this area two years ago.