Ilario Pantano is a respected combat veteran, and bestselling author who has worked in both global markets and small business. The “born again Southerner” is a 38 year-old conservative committed to promoting job creation and revitalizing the economy, protecting the homeland and preserving our conservative values.
Pantano launched his congressional campaign with the ‘100 Days of Work’ initiative highlighting southeastern North Carolina’s number one issue: jobs and the economy. In ongoing discussions with employers and employees, Pantano turns to the free market of ideas to refine the solutions needed to revive the lagging economy. “As someone who has agonized over payroll and scrambled to get customers, I can relate to the struggles and the triumphs in today’s job market and the paralyzing effects of excessive taxation, regulation and litigation.”
Pantano, whose young children attend public school, also makes the case for top-tier educational programs that can simultaneously attract and educate a work force of innovators.
Pantano’s ‘100 Days of Work’ connects him to the people of the 7th district whose representation has been monopolized by a single party for over 140 years. “From my experience in small and large companies, I recognize that the best ideas often come from the bottom up and not the top down, particularly when the top, in this case Washington, has lost touch with the people.”
The call to serve his country is not a new one. Pantano has sworn the oath to defend the Constitution of the United States three times in his life: first as a 17-year old Marine. As an anti-tank gunner, Pantano fought in the first Gulf War, with the Sixth Marine Regiment that helped to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi invaders. Later, Pantano would become an Elite Scout Sniper and train with foreign militaries in the Mediterranean. His service included support of the UN peacekeeping mission for what was then Yugoslavia. Sergeant Pantano was honorably discharged (1993) and attended New York University at night while working at Goldman Sachs by day. He began as a clerk in the oil and gas markets of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and ultimately worked up to a position trading electricity.
In 1998, a decade before Wall Street’s underbelly was publicly exposed, Pantano made a decision to reject the greed mentality that he found morally repugnant, despite the salary. “As a capitalist, I appreciate the importance of profit, but as someone one who had always put service before self, I could not abide by the damage that was being done to human lives by reckless speculators like Enron.” Five years ago, Pantano presciently wrote of his decision to leave Wall Street in his memoir Warlord. In one story, a Goldman trader, who would later go on to management at AIG, smugly goaded Pantano, “Do you know how much money I made in oil while you were in the Gulf War?” Today, Pantano laments on the AIG bailout, “now all of our children will pay to protect that trader’s private airplane, and that is not okay.”
Pantano later started a media consulting business with clients like ATT Broadband, Cablevision, and Mattel. On his way to a meeting in Manhattan, he witnessed the Twin Towers burning in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Friends and colleagues were killed in the attacks.
Pantano rushed to a recruiter’s office and began the lengthy process of returning to service in the Marines, this time as an officer. While Pantano waited for his slot at OCS, he ran high-risk news operations for media companies putting journalists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. His clients included: HD Net, National Geographic Explorer, and the US State Department. Pantano also helped facilitate the first celebration of International Woman’s Day in Afghanistan (2002) with award winning playwright and author, Eve Ensler (V-Day) .
Pantano graduated Marine officer training in the top 2 percentile and was selected by his peers to lead their Infantry Officer Class. Upon graduation, 2nd Lt Pantano and his family were assigned to Camp Lejeune North Carolina, where he took command of an Infantry Platoon with the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Marine Regiment, the WARLORDS. The WARLORDS deployed to the “Triangle of Death” Region in Iraq where they conducted combat operations in Latafiyah, Yusufiyah and Falluja.
After months of insurgent violence triggered by the infamous ambush and grisly hanging of Americans in Fallujah (2004), Pantano was investigated for actions in killing two terrorists after a disgruntled Marine that Pantano had publicly demoted filed a complaint. The case took on national attention. Media outlets from dozens of national networks and newspapers overflowed the courtroom. After a lengthy and very public hearing of the facts, Pantano was cleared of all charges and given a new command, but death threats from jihadists and fear for his family ultimately led Pantano to resign his commission.
After his second honorable discharge from the Marines, Pantano wrote a best selling book, WARLORD: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy, about his experiences and began writing and commenting on veterans' affairs. Pantano made hundreds of television and radio appearances where he advocated for American servicemen even as public sentiment was turning against the War efforts (2006-7).
Seeking ways to continue serving his community, Pantano volunteered with the Red Cross assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina. He also helped to produce a documentary film honoring our nation's warriors that benefited a Purple Heart charity and he became a deputy Sheriff In New Hanover County, where he continues to serve as an inactive Special Deputy.
Pantano has consulted on, researched, and written on a range of national security topics including Afghanistan, and he is currently working on a book about southern military history and traditions. “My wife and I chose to live in North Carolina, not because we were born here, but because we respected the southern traditions of faith in God, service, loyalty and devotion. Those are the values I strive to live by and those are the values I teach my sons,” says Pantano. Prior to his run for Congress, Pantano had been writing and pursuing a Masters Degree in National Security Policy and Strategic Intelligence. An article on intelligence reform by Pantano was published in the May 2010 edition of American Legion Magazine.
TEXT CREDIT: Pantano For North Carolina Office: 910-476-9783
VIDEO CREDIT: PantanoForCongress
