Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe QUEENS, N.Y., July 1 (UPI) -- Too many tattoos proved too much for the U.S. Army, which turned down a Russian immigrant from Queens who volunteered. The Army liked 25-year-old Felix Gruman's other qualifications, including college credits, heavy workouts and his patriotic zeal, but not his tattoos. Advertisement Gruman said he was about to board a bus to Fort Benning, Ga., June 23 when he was told he couldn't join up, the New York Daily News reported Thursday. The Russian immigrant said his recruiters earlier had told him the tattoos wouldn't be a problem because they weren't gang-related or offensive. The art work covering 70 percent of his arms include a Spider-Man type web on one arm and a swirl of colors with a gate covering the Earth on the other, the report said. "There's nothing that's offensive. This can't make me a bad soldier ... I'm willing to risk my life and be a medic," Gruman said. An Army spokesman said the case was reviewed by the brass. In anticipation of getting into the Army, Gruman said he gave up his job and apartment lease. Now he is living with his grandmother. Advertisement U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., who represents the Queens area, is looking into the matter.
