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Brian Williams' Mugging Story Comes Under Scrutiny

Ever since Brian Williams admitted last week that he had embellished a story about his exploits during the Iraq War, other anecdotes shared by the NBC anchor -- including a tale of being mugged at gunpoint -- have come under scrutiny.



In numerous interviews and in a recent broadcast, Williams claimed he was aboard a helicopter that was hit and forced down by RPG fire during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Williams later told Stars and Stripes he had misremembered the events. The admission, and on-air apology, occurred after several crew members who were on the aircraft that was hit came forward.



Amidst a media firestorm, NBC is investigating Williams' Iraq coverage, his Peabody Award-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and statements he made about experiencing rocket fire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Other anecdotes Williams has told over the years are getting the magnifying glass treatment as well, including a tale he repeatedly shared about being mugged at gunpoint back in the 1970s.



During a 2005 story in Esquire and a profile in New Jersey Monthly three years later, Williams talked about how he was robbed while selling Christmas trees out of the back of a truck to help a church in Red Bank, N.J.



"That wasn’t a bad job, until a guy came up and stuck a .38-caliber pistol in my face and made me hand over all the money. Merry Christmas, right? Of course, I suddenly appreciated the other jobs I thought I hated," Williams told New Jersey Monthly.



Longtime residents say they doubt the veracity of the story.



“I find it hard to believe anyone was held up in this area in the ’70s. It was very safe," Danny Murphy, former owner of Danny's restaurant, told Pagesix.com.



"I doubt he was robbed at gunpoint," Les Carbone, 85, told The Daily Mail. "I was born in Red Bank, there were no crimes like that. Tell Brian Williams to stop lying.'



No proof refuting Williams' story of the alleged mugging has surfaced.



Despite this brush with the criminal element, Williams maintained a love for his home state. In November, he was even inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.



“I wouldn’t trade growing up where I did, how I did, with anyone, anywhere,” Williams said during his speech. "I wear New Jersey on me, I carry it with me everywhere."







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