Eric Cooper's trial for tampering with a government document, which begins this week, could end up just being about a man accused of signing his name to his ex-wife's car title without permission. But it could also open the door to a lot of grief for Cooper, the guy a variety of ex-wives and girlfriends say is a smooth-talking con man who built relationships on lies. Either way, we bet it'll be pretty interesting.
If you haven't heard of Cooper, here's a brief rundown: He's a 30-year-old man from San Jacinto County who graduated from Shepherd High School, worked several menial jobs and spent a year in jail for credit card abuse (he has also been arrested for bigamy, impersonating a peace officer and forgery). But a string of women claim he told them about a far different past: a career as a naval fighter pilot, former service as a Navy SEAL, a master's degree in business and a $2.7 million trust fund. Krystal Weber, now a nurse in the Texas Medical Center, believed him: She met Cooper on a dating website, married him soon afterward in Las Vegas and then started to find out things weren't quite as they seemed. Weber's parents started to find suspicious charges on their bank accounts, and when they went to confront Cooper they found him moving out of his and Krystal Weber's apartment. Cooper was arrested in January 2005 for allegedly signing his name to Weber's car title without her permission.
Weber's not the only one who says Cooper fabricated a military background: A former girlfriend says he carried an M-16 rifle in a briefcase, another says he spoke to a second-grade class at her son's elementary school in New Caney wearing dress whites and police in Lake Charles had told the Navy and Army that Cooper had a Navy uniform and another man's Army ID. For the record, Cooper really was in the Navy — for about three months in 1996 — and when the Chronicle interviewed him last year, he denied wearing or owning any military uniforms. But that doesn't explain a photo in the Chronicle taken in 2004 showing Cooper wearing a uniform. (For more on Cooper's alleged deceptions, check out the story from The Oprah Winfrey Show that aired Feb. 13.)
After Cooper was arrested on the document charge last year, he left town and was arrested again in Kansas for jumping bond and missing a court date; he says he went there to seek alternative bone cancer treatment. He's been in custody ever since. Now, he's confined to a wheelchair because, according to his attorney, he has diabetes and cancer. (Interestingly enough, the Chron reported last year that Cooper has been accused in the past of pretending to have diabetes and cancer — so we guess the current situation is either another con or a really tidy case of karma.) He maintains he's done nothing wrong and that the women, bitter after their relationships went bad, are conspiring against him.
Cooper faces up to 20 years in prison if he's convicted of tampering with the car title, but more important, a conviction could open him up to the long list of other accusations against him. At least 10 of his ex-wives and lovers have been subpoenaed to testify against Cooper; it's not clear whether they'll do so in the guilt-innocence phase or will be waiting in the wings for the punishment phase.
In either case, it looks like Cooper is going to need to come up with some really good stories to explain all this away.
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