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Richard John Brenneke (December 5, 1941 – July 23, 2015) was an American businessman who testified in 1988 that he had worked in Southeast Asia with the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
's Air America, among other roles. The CIA publicly disavowed Brenneke's claimed affiliation with the Agency. Brenneke testified to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
's Kerry Committee on
allegations of CIA drug trafficking The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade. Several works on the subject have received significant attention, including those written by historian Alfred W. McCoy, professor and diplomat P ...
, and his evidence was considered by the
House October Surprise Task Force The House October Surprise Task Force (formally ''Task Force of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of Americans as Hostages by Iran in 1980'') was a task force instituted by the United States ...
on the 1980 October Surprise affair. The
Kerry Committee report The Kerry Committee (formally the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations) was a US Senate subcommittee during the 100th United States Congress that examined ...
indicated Brenneke did not have the CIA connections he claimed to possess. The Task Force's report stated that Brenneke "played a central role in falsely propagating the October Surprise allegations for financial and person reasons".


Early life

Brenneke was the oldest of Richard W. and M. Patricia Brenneke's four sons. His father founded a real estate and property management company in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Jesuit High School in
Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...
in 1960, then earned a B.A. degree from
Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...
in 1964 and a M.A. degree from
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in 1968.


Career

As of 1986, Brenneke was reported to have been a former teacher at St. John's University and the president of a property management firm in
Lake Oswego, Oregon Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Population in 2020 was 40,731, an 11.2% increase since 2010, making it the ...
, and to have a small ownership share of a small Portland marina. An acquaintance in Lake Oswego said Brenneke had claimed to have been a pilot for the CIA-affiliated airline Air America. According to journalist
Frank Snepp Frank Warren Snepp, III (born May 3, 1943) is an American journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Saigon during the Vietnam War. For five out of his eight years as a CIA office ...
, "throughout the mid '80s Brenneke courted a bunch of would-be weapons dealers" and "began traveling to Europe as an apprentice arms broker for the Farnham-Ottokar Trust" in late 1984. – Reprinted in:
Bob Livingston Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (born April 30, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999. A Republican, he was chosen as Newt Gingrich's successor as Speaker of the U.S. ...
(LA)
"Overwhelming Evidence Debunks October Surprise Myth"
''Congressional Record'' 138 (1992) pp. 3161-3169. (Text from: ''Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection''); Accessed: November 20, 2020.
On one of these trips during the early summer of 1985, he met American arms merchant John Delarocque in France and became aware of Ari Ben-Menashe. In July, shortly after that trip, Brenneke wrote to propose a weapons deal to Nicholas Davies who had been accused by
Seymour Hersh Seymour Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer ...
of being an Israeli intelligence agent and partner to Ben-Menashe in a London-based arms company. In September, according to Brenneke's diaries, he again met Delaroque in
Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...
to discuss a private arms deal with Iran known as "Demavand". Brenneke and Delaroque would later state that deal fell through in October 1985 due to Iran's reluctance to work with the CIA. Between November 30, 1985 and February 25, 1986, Brenneke sent memos to various officials within the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
claiming that the Iranian government was willing to make a deal with the United States government to exchange their influence over terrorists and hostage-holders for United States weaponry. Brenneke also handed an envelope containing a similar message to an aide of
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
during Bush's January 1986 visit to Portland. On February 6,
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Lt. Col. Douglas Menarchik, a military adviser and aide to Vice President George Bush, provided the only official reply to the memos stating: "The U.S. government will not permit or participate in the provision of war materiel to Iran and will prosecute any such efforts by U.S. citizens to the fullest extent of the law." In April 1986, associates of Brenneke were arrested in the "Brokers of Death" arms case. In February 1987, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that over an eight week period it had obtained information about the Demavand project "from more than 4,000 pages of confidential telexes, contracts, correspondence and other documents and interviews with 150 Government officials, arms dealers, intelligence sources and others". Brenneke told the newspaper that private arms dealers made efforts to sell US weapons to Iran in 1983, and Pentagon officials who learned of it allowed it to continue. Brenneke presented a letter stating that he had been employed by the CIA for 13 years, but the CIA said they had no record of his employment. On November 26, Brenneke's memos were released to defense attorneys in the ongoing "Brokers of Death" arms case in which various defendants, arrested by the
United States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal in ...
and charged by the
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
's office, said that high ranking US officials - including Bush - needed their services to sell weapons to Iran. Afterwards, he told reporters that in January he followed up on the memos he sent by speaking with Menarchik several times to discuss details of the plan to sell US weapons to Iran. Brenneke said US intelligence sources told him that the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
was planning to purchase weapons for Nicaraguan rebels with the profits of weapons sales to Iran, and after informing Menarchik was told, "We will look into it." He claimed that Menarchik told him that his letter of February 6 was a public statement intended to protect a covert operation. Through a spokesman, Mernarchik denied having the conversations with Brenneke. Bush spokesman
Marlin Fitzwater Max Marlin Fitzwater (born November 24, 1942) is an American writer-journalist who served as White House Press Secretary for six years under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, making him one of the longest-serving press secretar ...
said the idea that Bush would have approved the deal was "pure nonsense" and that it was a "standard trick" for arms dealers to claim that they had well-placed contacts within the government. Brenneke also added to his earlier claims stating that what he relayed to Menarchik included information that he had learned from US intelligence sources that profits from the sale of weapons to Iran would be used to purchase arms for the
Contras In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...
. Brenneke's documents included a December 1985 report to him from Delaroque claiming that
John Poindexter John Marlan Poindexter (born August 12, 1936) is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor during the Reagan administration. He was convicte ...
had verbally approved the sale of TOW anti-tank missiles to Iran through a private Israeli company. In December 1986 Brenneke was listed by the ''
Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' as one of 16 of a "cast of characters" involved in the Iran-Contra affair, describing him as "An Oregon real estate developer with extensive contacts in Iran. Says he was involved, with the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
and
NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
, in an attempt to sell 39 F-4E fighter planes to Iran in 1985. Says he met with several Iranian officials." On April 23, 1987, Brenneke told the ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' that Iranian authorities gave him intelligence information to pass along to the United States government as an inducement to allow him and his associates to sell them weapons in late 1984. He said that he and two French colleagues gave material to French, Israeli, and United States intelligence sources that included information about the PLO headquarters in Tunisia, prior to its bombing by Israel on October 1, 1985, and maps of Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
's headquarters, prior to the United States bombing of Libya on April 15, 1986. Brenneke said the intelligence offerings were given to him by an Iranian air force officer authorized by
Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic, Rafsanjani was the ...
, the speaker of Iran's parliament, with whom he occasionally spoke with by telephone, and other Iranian officials. He said that he then passed the information to Lt. Col. Larry Caylor, with
United States Army Intelligence and Security Command The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and natio ...
, and Lt. Col. George Alvarez, a Marine Corps counterintelligence, who forwarded some of it to Menarchik. "Called before a Senate subcommittee on narcotics and international relations in 1988, Brenneke claimed to have run drugs from Colombia to the U.S. as part of a Contra supply operation. He also testified to having purchased arms in Czechoslovakia for the Nicaraguan rebels. That testimony was called ''slanderous'' by then- Vice President Bush, and a 1989 Senate committee report concluded that Brenneke never had the Central Intelligence Agency connections he claimed." Dubious statements from Brenneke contributed to the Mena scandal, one facet of the conspiracy theory that the CIA aided in the smuggling of drugs to raise profits for the Contras.


Rupp trial (1988)

On September 23, 1988, Brenneke voluntarily testified at the sentencing hearing of Heinrich Rupp, a "close friend" who had been convicted of bank fraud. Brenneke testified that Rupp believed he was acting on behalf of the CIA in carrying out the fraud, which Brenneke said was part of a much wider CIA scheme to gain funding for covert operations by defrauding
savings and loan association A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. While the terms "S&L" and "thrift" are mainly used in the United States, ...
s. Brenneke cited Indian Springs State Bank as an example – the bank had loaned money to Global International Airways, a company involved in the Iran-Contra affair, and the Iranian Farhad Azima had been a major shareholder of the bank and also owner of the airline. A 1975 ID card Brenneke supplied to a ''
Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...
'' reporter showed Rupp as a pilot for the airline. Brenneke said that he and Rupp had been involved in various covert operations for the agency in the past. He said he and Rupp and been involved in such matters since Brenneke's days at the CIA's Air America, beginning in 1967.''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', June 6, 1990
Man Cleared of Lying in Remarks On Reagan Aides and 52 Hostages
/ref> As an example of the kind of covert operations he and Rupp had been involved in, Brenneke said that he and Rupp had been involved in some of the meetings at which the 1980 October Surprise affair was arranged. Brenneke said that on the night of October 18, 1980, Rupp had flown
William 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 ...
from Washington's National Airport to Paris' Le Bourget Airfield for a series of secret meetings. These meetings (on October 19 and 20) involved negotiations between Iranian representatives and members of the Reagan-Bush campaign. Brenneke testified he was present at the last of three meetings, on the details of the cash and weapons involved, at which Casey and Donald Gregg were also present. Brenneke also testified that
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
was present in Paris for the meetings, but a month after his deposition he amended his statement by letter to the judge, clarifying that his knowledge of Bush's presence was not first-hand but came from Rupp.


Perjury trial (1989–1990)

For his role in the Rupp trial, Brenneke was charged with five counts of making false declarations to a federal judge, a charge slightly stronger than
perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
.Marilynn Wheeler,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, May 6, 1990
Jury Foreman Says He Never Doubted Brenneke's Innocence
/ref> He was indicted on May 12, 1989, accused of lying about his and Rupp's CIA connections and about the October Surprise meetings. The timing caused some speculation that the charges were intended to avoid political embarrassment for Donald Gregg, whose Senate confirmation hearings for his appointment as Ambassador to South Korea began the same day: the charges prevented senators from raising accusations Brenneke had made in 1988 that Gregg had directed the Iran-Contra affair out of the Vice-President's office. The prosecution offered Brenneke a deal that would keep him out of prison if he pleaded guilty; he refused. The prosecution produced a CIA personnel specialist who testified that he could not find Brenneke or Rupp in the Agency's employment records, but under cross-examination admitted that Rupp had been trained by the CIA's
Intermountain Aviation Intermountain Airlines, also known as Intermountain Aviation and Intermountain Airways, was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) airline front company. Intermountain performed covert operations for the CIA in Southeast Asia and elsewhere during t ...
, and that the Agency had "files" on both Rupp and Brenneke.
Frank Snepp Frank Warren Snepp, III (born May 3, 1943) is an American journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Saigon during the Vietnam War. For five out of his eight years as a CIA office ...
testified that CIA contract agents were often not listed in employment records where the agents were involved in sensitive operations. Two intelligence operatives from Texas testified to collaborating with Brenneke. Donald Gregg testified that on October 18, 1980 he was not in Paris but on holiday in Delaware, providing in evidence family photographs he said were taken that weekend. A meteorologist testified that the sunny weather conditions made it highly unlikely that they had been taken that weekend in that location. The prosecution failed to prove that Casey and Bush could not have attended the Paris meetings. Defense witnesses included William Northrop indicted in the
Brokers of Death arms case The 'Brokers of Death' arms case (officially ''United States v. Samuel Evans et al''James Traub, ''New York'', 8 February 1987The Katzenjammer Falcon/ref>) was a US criminal case in the 1980s relating to the attempted shipment of $2.5bn worth of US ...
, which had been dropped in January 1989 on the grounds that the prosecution could not disprove the defendants' claims that they believed the planned arms shipments to Iran were or could be government-sanctioned. Northrop testified that Israeli arms shipments to Iran began "within a fortnight" of the Paris meeting. On May 4, 1990, after only five hours of deliberation, the jury found Brenneke "not guilty" on all five counts. Following the trial, jury foreman Mark Kristoff stated, "We were convinced that, yes, there was a meeting, and he was there and the other people listed in the indictment were there.... There never was a guilty vote.... It was 100 percent."


Claims on RAI Television

In July 1990, Brenneke provided documents to Italian journalists regarding
Licio Gelli Licio Gelli (; 21 April 1919 – 15 December 2015) was an Italian Freemason and businessman. A fascist volunteer in his youth, he is chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable ...
and
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...
(P2), asserting CIA support for their activities. Calling the allegations "absolute nonsense", the CIA denied involvement in Italian terrorism and the
assassination of Olof Palme On 28 February 1986, at 23:21 Central European Time, CET (22:21 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, was fatally wounded by a single gunshot while walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme on the ...
. Given "the outrageous nature of his claims", the CIA gave a public denial stating: "The agency flatly denies that Mr. Brenneke was ever an agent of the CIA or had any association with the CIA."


Brenneke's records

In 1991,
Peggy Adler Peggy Adler (born February 10, 1942) is an American author & illustrator and investigative researcher. She is the daughter of Irving Adler and Ruth Adler and younger sister of Stephen L. Adler. Early career Adler began her professional career ...
was retained by Brenneke to co-author his autobiography. Discovering evidence in his files contradicting some of his claims regarding his presence at October Surprise conspiracy meetings, she contacted former
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agent-turned-journalist,
Frank Snepp Frank Warren Snepp, III (born May 3, 1943) is an American journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Saigon during the Vietnam War. For five out of his eight years as a CIA office ...
. Snepp included this evidence (of credit card receipts showing a presence in Portland when Brenneke said he was in Paris) in a February 1992 article he wrote for the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
''. Adler's work was the subject of a chapter in Robert Parry's book, ''"Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery"'' and she was interviewed by
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
' '' Frontline'' in this regard, aired in April 1992. In mid-1992, learning that the
House October Surprise Task Force The House October Surprise Task Force (formally ''Task Force of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of Americans as Hostages by Iran in 1980'') was a task force instituted by the United States ...
was investigating whether or not there actually had been an October Surprise, she contacted investigative journalist and author
Steven Emerson Steven Emerson (born June 6, 1954) is an American investigative journalist, author, and pundit on national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism. He is the founder and director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, and received a Ge ...
, who put her in touch with the Task Force so that she could turn over to them the seventy cartons of documents she had hauled east from Brenneke's home in Portland, Oregon, in order to write his memoirs. In the month of June Adler worked as a consultant to the Task Force. Peggy Adler employed as an Assistant Investigator by the U.S. House of Representatives' October Surprise Task Force (pdf)


Death

In 2015, Brenneke passed away from complications due to
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
and
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* Jane Hunter,
A Renaissance Man
, '' NACLA'' 22(5), August 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenneke, Richard J. 1942 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Iran–Contra affair