Richard Secord

Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired, was a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal. He was born in LaRue, Ohio in 1932.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. cite web|url=http://www.cti-net.com/company/management.asp|title=Computerized Thermal Imagining, Inc. Management] cite web|url=http://sec.edgar-online.com/2003/09/29/0001019687-03-001998/Section33.asp|title=Computerized Thermal Imaging Inc - COIB Annual Report (10-K) Signature]

Laos

Richard Secord was involved in the Secret War in Laos during the Second Indochina War. At the time he was stationed in Thailand as deputy air wing commander and provided Hmong military leader, and Royal Lao Army Major General, Vang Pao with tactical air support. Ron Rickenbach, a former USAID official who served at the time, made an illgical unsubstantiated allegation that Vang Pao occasionally used these aircraft to transport opium [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/archive/gunsdrugscia.html] .

Iran-Contra

Richard Secord has been described as having represented U.S. arms merchants before the Shah of Iran, as it is alleged that he acted as the chief advisor to the commander in chief of the Iranian air force and managed all U.S. Air Force programs to Iran as well as some Army and Navy assistance programs.

Secord filed a libel casecite web|url=http://www.wethepeople.la/cockburn.htm|title=Decision, Richard V. Secord v. Leslie Cockburn, et al.; Civil Action No. 88-0727-GHR|publisher=United States District Court, District of Columbia|date=Aug. 27, 1990] 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.

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.

Notes

ee also

*Air America (airline)
*Air America (film)
*Battle of Lima Site 85 in Laos (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 International
*"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 ( [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/16472614 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. ( [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/15490148 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) ( [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/17746648 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. ( [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/35660350 OCLC:35660350] )

ources

*Iran-Contra Connection, J. Marshall, P. Scott and J. Hunter

External links

* [http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=7102 Official U.S. Air Force Biography (af.mil)]
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKsecordR.htm Spartacus Educational - Richard Secord]