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32-404: Former presidents included William J. Casey , later CIA Director under President Ronald Reagan, and James Lacrocca, former New York State Commissioner of Energy and Transportation. As of November 2023, it is led by Matt Cohen. This article about a business, industry, or trade-related organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This New York –related article

64-581: A final, four-minute encounter—a claim which was met with disbelief in many quarters as well as an adamant denial from Casey's wife, Sofia. According to Woodward, when Casey was asked if he knew about the diversion of funds to the Nicaraguan Contras , "His head jerked up hard. He stared, and finally nodded yes." In his final report (submitted in August 1993), Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh indicated evidence of Casey's involvement: There

96-552: A need for investigation, the outcome of the investigation , the response of Casey's family to the task force's closure of the investigation , and Walsh's final Independent Counsel report . Casey was a member of the Knights of Malta . In 1948, he purchased Locust Knoll, an 8.2 acres (3.3 ha) North Shore estate centered around a main 1854 Jacobethan house in Roslyn Harbor, New York , for $ 50,000. After renaming

128-573: A previously undiagnosed brain tumor. While hospitalized, Casey died less than 24 hours after former colleague Richard Secord testified that Casey supported the illegal aiding of the Contras. In his November 1987 book, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987, Washington Post reporter and biographer Bob Woodward , who had interviewed Casey on a number of occasions for the biography, said that he had gained entry into Casey's hospital room for

160-472: A stenographer and bookkeeper for a Chicago importer, while attending evening classes at Northwestern University . In 1928 he joined the Chicago-based firm of Alexander Grant and Company, certified public accountants, and continued his part-time studies at Columbia University while working at the firm's New York City office. He attended Columbia from 1928 to 1930. Stans was an executive partner with

192-629: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . William J. Casey William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was an American lawyer who was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A native of the Elmhurst section of Queens, New York , Casey

224-484: Is evidence that Casey played a role as a Cabinet-level advocate both in setting up the covert network to resupply the contras during the Boland funding cut-off, and in promoting the secret arms sales to Iran in 1985 and 1986. In both instances, Casey was acting in furtherance of broad policies established by President Reagan. There is evidence that Casey, working with two national security advisers to President Reagan during

256-584: Is evidence that he was involved in at least some of those activities and may have attempted to keep them concealed from Congress. However, Walsh also wrote: "Independent Counsel obtained no documentary evidence showing Casey knew about or approved the diversion. The only direct testimony linking Casey to early knowledge of the diversion came from [Oliver] North ." Posthumously, the House October Surprise Task Force eventually exonerated Casey after first holding hearings to establish

288-637: The Cold War . Casey would fly secretly to Rome in a windowless C-141 black jet and "be taken undercover to the Vatican. Casey oversaw the re-expansion of the Intelligence Community to funding and human resource levels greater than those existing before the preceding Carter Administration ; in particular, he increased levels within the CIA. During his tenure, post- Watergate and Church Committee restrictions were controversially lifted on

320-760: The Dwight Eisenhower administration. He served as deputy director of the Bureau of the Budget from 1957 to 1958, and director of the Bureau of the Budget from 1958 to 1961, still under Eisenhower. He joined the Nixon administration as secretary of commerce from 1969 to 1972. In 1961, Stans was one of the founders of the African Wildlife Foundation . In mid-February 1972, Stans resigned as

352-685: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) (1974–1976). During this era, he was also a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1975–1976) and of counsel to Rogers & Wells (1976–1981). Casey returned to private law practice in 1976. With Antony Fisher , he co-founded the Manhattan Institute in 1978. Casey represented 117 clients from 1976 to 1981. Among Casey's clients were

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384-615: The Nixon administration as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1971 to 1973; this position led to his being called as a prosecution witness against former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans in an influence-peddling case stemming from international financier Robert Vesco 's $ 200,000 contribution to the Nixon reelection campaign. He then served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (1973–1974) and chairman of

416-725: The Office of Strategic Services , where he became head of its Secret Intelligence Branch in Europe. He served in the United States Naval Reserve until December 1944 before remaining in his OSS position as a civilian until his resignation in September 1945; as an officer, he attained the rank of lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement. Following the dissolution of

448-878: The Alexander Grant & Co. accounting firm in Chicago from 1940 until 1955. He was a Certified Public Accountant , licensed in New York, Ohio and Virginia. He was President of the American Institute of Accountants from 1954 to 1955 and won the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession in 1954. He was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 1960. He later served as U.S. deputy postmaster general from 1955 to 1957, in

480-533: The Islamic Republic of Iran , and secretly diverted some of the resulting income to aid the rebel Contras in Nicaragua , in violation of U.S. law. Casey was called to testify before Congress about his knowledge of the affair. On 15 December 1986, one day before Casey was scheduled to testify before Congress, Casey suffered two seizures and was hospitalized. Three days later, Casey underwent surgery for

512-638: The Middle East. During the trip, Connally asked Arab leaders to convey to the Iranian government that Iran should wait to release American hostages until after the election of 1980 was concluded. Barnes claimed that Casey discussed with Connally if the Iranians "were going to hold the hostages," possibly corroborating the October Surprise theory . The hostages were released minutes after Reagan

544-661: The OSS in September 1945, Casey returned to his legal and business ventures. After serving as a special counsel to the United States Senate (1947–1948) and associate general counsel to the Point Four Program (1948), Casey founded the Institute for Business Planning in 1950; there, he amassed much of his early wealth (compounded by investments) by writing early data-driven publications on business law . He

576-656: The estate Mayknoll, it remained his principal residence until his death. His daughter Bernadette was married to Casey's business partner, the late Owen Smith. Smith was the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of World Politics and a professor at Long Island University . Casey died of a brain tumor on May 6, 1987, at the age of 74. His Requiem Mass was said by Fr. Daniel Fagan, then pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Roslyn, New York , and his funeral

608-659: The final presidential debate on October 28, 1980, the Reagan campaign acquired President Jimmy Carter 's briefing papers, classified top secret, that Carter used in preparation for the debate. The importance of these documents is still subject to debate, but the leak of campaign papers was not divulged to the public until late June 1983. James Baker has claimed that he had received the briefing book from Casey, who vehemently denied this before his death. According to Ben Barnes , Casey met with Barnes and former Texas Governor John Connally in September 1980 to discuss Connally's trip to

640-469: The governments of Indonesia and South Korea , which were then military dictatorships. Casey would fail to disclose his legal clients and finances from the 1970s to the U.S. Senate during his confirmation hearings to become Director of Central Intelligence. As campaign manager of Ronald Reagan 's successful presidential campaign in 1980, Casey helped to broker Reagan's unlikely alliance with vice presidential nominee George H. W. Bush . Shortly before

672-621: The larger investigation into the Watergate scandal . Stans was born on March 22, 1908, in Shakopee, Minnesota , the son of James Hubert Stans and Mathilda Stans (nee Nyssen). His father was the only child of Jan Hendrik Stans and Maria Catharina Crijns, a Belgian couple who immigrated to the United States in 1880. Stans graduated from Shakopee High School in 1925. He worked at a local foundry before traveling to Chicago to find work with friend, Otto F. Schultz. The same year, he began work as

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704-503: The period 1984 through 1986— Robert C. McFarlane and Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter —approved having these operations conducted out of the National Security Council staff with Lt. Col. Oliver L. North as the action officer, assisted by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord . And although Casey tried to insulate himself and the CIA from any illegal activities relating to the two secret operations ... there

736-464: The position was not his first choice; according to Rhoda Koenig, he only agreed to take the appointment after being assured that "he could have a hand in shaping foreign policy rather than simply reporting the data on which it was based." Breaking precedent, Reagan elevated the role to a Cabinet -level position for the duration of Casey's appointment. Ronald Reagan used prominent Catholics in his government to brief Pope John Paul II of developments in

768-636: The reporting sections of the Federal Election Campaign Act and two counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions. He was fined $ 5,000. The convictions were related to improperly giving campaign funds to G. Gordon Liddy , though Stans insisted that his guilt ended there and that he was not aware of Liddy's plan to use the money for what became the Watergate break in. He later authored a book, The Terrors of Justice: The Untold Side of Watergate , in which he detailed his side of

800-588: The secretary of commerce to chair the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), Richard Nixon 's re-election campaign. Money that he raised for the campaign was clearly used to finance some of the illegal Watergate activities. Stans denied any knowledge of what the money was used for, only that it was authorized to be spent. On March 12, 1975, Stans pleaded guilty to three counts of violating

832-554: The use of the CIA to directly and covertly influence the internal and foreign affairs of countries relevant to American policy. This period of the Cold War saw an increase in the Agency's global, anti-Soviet activities, which started under the Carter Doctrine in late 1980. Casey was suspected, by some, of involvement with the controversial Iran-Contra affair , in which Reagan administration personnel secretly traded arms to

864-537: Was a lecturer in tax law at the New York University School of Law from 1948 to 1962. From 1957 to 1971, he was a partner at Hall, Casey, Dickler & Howley , a New York corporate law firm, under the auspices of founding partner and prominent Republican politician Leonard W. Hall . He ran as a Republican for New York's 3rd congressional district in 1966, but was defeated in the primary by former Congressman Steven Derounian . He served in

896-546: Was a partner in the New York–based Buckner, Casey, Doran and Siegel from 1938 to 1942. Concurrently, as chairman of the board of editors of the Research Institute of America (1938–1949), Casey initially conceptualized the tax shelter and "explained to businessmen how little they need[ed] to do in order to stay on the right side of New Deal regulatory legislation." During World War II , he worked for

928-494: Was an American accountant, civil servant , and political organizer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Commerce from 1969 to 1972. He served as the finance chairman for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President , working for the re-election of Richard Nixon . He pleaded guilty to five counts for technical violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act that were revealed during

960-570: Was inaugurated as president. Casey then served on the transition team following the election. After Reagan took office, Reagan named Casey to the post of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). Outgoing Director Stansfield Turner characterized the appointment as the "Resurrection of Wild Bill," referring to Bill Donovan , the brilliant and eccentric head of Office of Strategic Services in World War II , whom Casey had known and greatly admired. Despite Casey's background in intelligence,

992-736: Was led by Bishop John R. McGann , who used his pulpit to castigate Casey for his ethics and actions in Nicaragua. It was attended by President Reagan and the First Lady. Casey is buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, New York . He was survived by his wife, the former Sophia Kurz (d. 2000), and his daughter, Bernadette Casey Smith. Maurice Stans Maurice Hubert Stans (March 22, 1908 – April 14, 1998)

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1024-576: Was raised as a Roman Catholic in Bellmore, New York and graduated from the Jesuit -affiliated Fordham University in 1934. He continued his education at other Catholic institutions, completing graduate work at the Catholic University of America before earning an LL.B. from St. John's University School of Law in 1937. He was of Irish ancestry. Following his admission to the bar, he

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