Richard Secord
Encyclopedia
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired (born 1932 in LaRue, Ohio), is a United States Air Force
officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal.
He graduated from West Point in 1955 and was then commissioned in the USAF. He was President of Stanford Technology Trading Group Intl.
, also known as the "Enterprise", a company involved with arms sales to Iran
during the Reagan
presidency.
Since 2002, retired General Secord has held the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board
at Computerized Thermal Imaging.
during the Second Indochina War
. He flew close air support missions in Vietnam in 1962, and was the CIA chief of tactical air support in Laos on detail from the USAF in 1966, 67 and 68. See his book, "Honored and Betrayed" published in 1992.
.
Secord filed a libel case against Leslie Cockburn, Andrew Cockburn, Morgan Entrekin, Atlantic Monthly Press, and Little, Brown and Company, Inc. for publishing a book in 1987 entitled Out of Control: The Story of the Reagan Administration's Secret War in Nicaragua, the Illegal Pipeline, and the Contra Drug Connection. The court ordered summary judgment
on behalf of the defendant.
On May 11, 1989, Secord received a second indictment on nine counts of impeding and obstructing the Congress Select Iran Contra Committees. Secord was scheduled to stand trial on 12 charges.
On November 8, 1989, Richard Secord pled guilty to one felony count of false statements to Congress, and on January 24, 1990, he was sentenced to two years probation.
In 1992 the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued a writ of coram nobis
which expunged the conviction on the grounds that the US Supreme Court had earlier found the underlying indictment to be illegal and without effect ab initio, i.e., from the beginning. The Justice Dept. did not oppose the matter. Thus the entire Iran-Contra imbroglio ended for Secord.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal.
He graduated from West Point in 1955 and was then commissioned in the USAF. He was President of Stanford Technology Trading Group Intl.
STTGI
Stanford Technology Trading Group International was a shell company founded by USAF Major General Richard V. Secord and Iranian arms dealer Albert Hakim, and a cornerstone of what was informally known as the "Enterprise", a complex web of for-profit business entities and non-profit front...
, also known as the "Enterprise", a company involved with arms sales to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
during the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
presidency.
Since 2002, retired General Secord has held the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
at Computerized Thermal Imaging.
Laos
Richard Secord was involved in the Secret War in LaosLaos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
during the Second Indochina War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He flew close air support missions in Vietnam in 1962, and was the CIA chief of tactical air support in Laos on detail from the USAF in 1966, 67 and 68. See his book, "Honored and Betrayed" published in 1992.
Iran-Contra
Secord was the USAF Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Iran from 1975-78. In this capacity he managed all USAF military assistance programs in Iran as well as some US Navy and Army programs. During this time he oversaw Project Dark Gene and Project IbexProject Dark Gene
Project Dark Gene was an active, aerial espionage program run by the CIA and Imperial Iranian Air Force from bases inside Iran against the Soviet Union. The program was run in conjunction with Project Ibex, which was a more traditional ELINT mission. The first operations were during the 1960s with...
.
Secord filed a libel case against Leslie Cockburn, Andrew Cockburn, Morgan Entrekin, Atlantic Monthly Press, and Little, Brown and Company, Inc. for publishing a book in 1987 entitled Out of Control: The Story of the Reagan Administration's Secret War in Nicaragua, the Illegal Pipeline, and the Contra Drug Connection. The court ordered summary judgment
Summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment is a determination made by a court without a full trial. Such a judgment may be issued as to the merits of an entire case, or of specific issues in that case....
on behalf of the defendant.
Trial
On March 16, 1988, Secord was indicted on six felony charges.On May 11, 1989, Secord received a second indictment on nine counts of impeding and obstructing the Congress Select Iran Contra Committees. Secord was scheduled to stand trial on 12 charges.
On November 8, 1989, Richard Secord pled guilty to one felony count of false statements to Congress, and on January 24, 1990, he was sentenced to two years probation.
In 1992 the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued a writ of coram nobis
Coram nobis
Coram nobis or coram vobis also known as error coram nobis or error coram vobis is a legal writ issued by a court to correct a previous error "of...
which expunged the conviction on the grounds that the US Supreme Court had earlier found the underlying indictment to be illegal and without effect ab initio, i.e., from the beginning. The Justice Dept. did not oppose the matter. Thus the entire Iran-Contra imbroglio ended for Secord.
See also
- Air America (airline)
- Air America (film)Air America (film)Air America is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. as Air America pilots, during the Vietnam War, flying missions in Laos...
- Battle of Lima Site 85Battle of Lima Site 85The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the Vietnam People’s Army and the Pathet Lao, against airmen of the United States Air Force 1st Combat Evaluation Group, elements of the ...
in LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
(Secord wrote in his memoire that he was in charge of security for LS-85, while stationed in Thailand). - Honored and Betrayed, by Richard V. Secord
- Stanford Technology Trading Group InternationalSTTGIStanford Technology Trading Group International was a shell company founded by USAF Major General Richard V. Secord and Iranian arms dealer Albert Hakim, and a cornerstone of what was informally known as the "Enterprise", a complex web of for-profit business entities and non-profit front...
- Testimony of Richard V. Secord : joint hearings before the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran and the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, One hundredth Congress, first session, May 5 through May 8, 1987. by Richard V Secord; United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.; United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition (OCLC: 16472614)
- Refusal of Richard V. Secord to testify : report. by United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition. (OCLC: 15490148)
- United States of America v. John M. Poindexter, Oliver L. North, Richard V. Secord, and Albert Hakim defendants : indictment. by John M Poindexter; United States. District Court (District of Columbia) (OCLC:17746648)
- Testimony of Richard V. Secord : joint hearings before the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran and the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, One Hundredth Congress, first session. by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.; United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition. (OCLC:35660350)