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Former KCRA Helicopter Pilot Arrested For Flying With Fake License

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Federal investigators say a former news helicopter pilot used false information to get his license to prevent the discovery of previous outstanding warrants.

John Dial faces two counts of making a false statement of federal aviation officials and one count of operating an aircraft without a proper pilot's license.

The federal complaint states Dial worked under the pseudonym Thomas Cuni when he was with Mountain Lifeflight in Susanville from July 2011 to November 2011. He was arrested on Nov. 21, 2011 on charges related to identity fraud, and that his real name was John M. Dial.

In March 2012, Dial applied with Helicopters, Inc., under his actual name with allegedly fake documents dated from February of that year. Around March 23 of that year, he was a briefly pilot for KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

The complaint states that Mountain Lifeflight in Susanville made the FAA aware of Dial's hiring as a pilot, noting his previous arrest in 2011.

Dial had also worked previously as a Bay Area news helicopter pilot between December 2009 and August 2010, flying 265 times, according to the complaint.

On April 8, 2012, Dial was stopped by police in Idaho and provided a Vermont driver's license showing his name as Thomas Cuni. He was told not to leave the scene, but he left. Dial was later stopped for speeding. The officer who stopped him was informed the man who said his name was Cuni was actually Dial, and that he had two additional warrants.

In a Mirandized statement, Dial admitted getting the fake license 12 years earlier to avoid being caught on the outstanding warrants. Two wallets were found in his car, one with a Cuni ID, the other with a Dial ID, both with similar pictures.

A review showed Dial had used 25 fake names, including Cuni, as well as 10 dates of birth. It also revealed he had misdemeanors dating back to 1977 related to bad checks.

Dial had been arrested in 1994 for providing false information to the FAA and received a two-year sentence and one year of supervised release.

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