SUNY big is out for false Afghan tale

AN OFFICIAL at a SUNY college in Syracuse resigned Monday in the wake of a report that he may have lied about surviving a bombing in Afghanistan.

The car bombing that Upstate Medical University Chief of Staff Sergio Garcia referenced in a speech last year happened in 2013 after he had left the country, not 2011 as he claimed, according to the Times Union of Albany.

He has also claimed that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is his close friend and mentor, a connection that could not be independently verified.

Late Sunday, Upstate Medical University said Garcia, who was appointed to the $340,000 post last year, would be placed on leave. A day later, he resigned. “After an expeditious review of the troubling accusations made against Upstate Medical University’s chief of staff, and at the request of Upstate President Danielle Laraque-Arena . . . Sergio Garcia has resigned, effective immediately,” the university said in a statement.

“The allegations are contradictory to Upstate’s shared values of being open and honest, and the president and her leadership team will work together to confirm these values are instilled at every level of the organization.”