Richard Welch
Encyclopedia
Richard Skeffington Welch (December 14, 1929 – December 23, 1975), a Harvard-educated classicist
, was a CIA Station Chief (COS) killed by the radical Marxist
organization Revolutionary Organization 17 November
(17N).
. He arrived in Athens
, Greece in July 1975, and stayed in the house occupied by several of his predecessors as chief of the CIA station. Five men in a stolen Simca
followed him home as he returned from a Christmas party the night of 23 December 1975. While two men covered his wife and driver, a third shot him dead with a .45 Colt M1911 pistol at close range. Welch's name and address had been published in the Athens News
and Eleftherotypia
in November 1975. However, a communiqué sent by 17N to French newspaper Libération
in March 1976 demonstrated that the group had been watching Welch's movements since the summer of 1975. He had previously been revealed as a CIA agent in an East German book and a magazine called CounterSpy
.
Welch was recruited to the CIA in 1951 upon graduation from Harvard. His first assignment as a case officer was in Athens working as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of the Army (1952-59). From 1960-64 he served in Cyprus, and then in Guatemala (1965-67), Guyana as COS (1967-69), and Peru as COS (1972-75).
, Welch was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
. His death helped turn the political tide back in favor of the CIA after the damning revelations by the Church Committee
earlier in 1975.
Welch's murder contributed to passage of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act
of 1982, making it illegal to reveal the name of an agent who has a covert relationship with an American intelligence organization.
In July 2002, a hospital employee named Pavlos Serifis (born 1956) confessed that he had participated in Welch's murder along with 17N's alleged mastermind Alexandros D. Giotopoulos (born 1944), Pavlos's uncle Ioannis Serifis (born 1938), and a tall, blonde "Anna." That confession, however, contained factual errors. A code name "Vangelis" assigned to him by police after study of 17N's financial notebooks seems to have been incorrect.
Charges for the Welch murder were not brought because the 20-year statute of limitations
had expired. Giotopoulos was sentenced to multiple life terms in 2003 as the moral instigator of a string of assassinations, bombings, rocket attacks, and bank robberies from 1983-2000. Ioannis Serifis was acquitted. Pavlos Serifis was convicted of membership in a terrorist group but released on health grounds. An appeals court ruled in 2007 that the statute of limitations had expired for that crime.
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
, was a CIA Station Chief (COS) killed by the radical Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
organization Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
(17N).
Early life and CIA career
Welch was born in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. He arrived in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece in July 1975, and stayed in the house occupied by several of his predecessors as chief of the CIA station. Five men in a stolen Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
followed him home as he returned from a Christmas party the night of 23 December 1975. While two men covered his wife and driver, a third shot him dead with a .45 Colt M1911 pistol at close range. Welch's name and address had been published in the Athens News
Athens News
The Athens News is an English-language newspaper published in Greece.It was founded by Yannis Horn, brother of Dimitris Horn, and first appeared on 29 January 1952....
and Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
in November 1975. However, a communiqué sent by 17N to French newspaper Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
in March 1976 demonstrated that the group had been watching Welch's movements since the summer of 1975. He had previously been revealed as a CIA agent in an East German book and a magazine called CounterSpy
Counterspy
CounterSpy is a proprietary spyware removal program for Microsoft Windows software developed by Sunbelt Software.-Features:CounterSpy scans a PC for spyware, examining files on the hard drive, objects in memory, the Windows registry and cookies and it has a capability called DNR that, according to...
.
Welch was recruited to the CIA in 1951 upon graduation from Harvard. His first assignment as a case officer was in Athens working as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of the Army (1952-59). From 1960-64 he served in Cyprus, and then in Guatemala (1965-67), Guyana as COS (1967-69), and Peru as COS (1972-75).
Legacy and aftermath
Welch was the first CIA officer to be murdered in a terrorist attack. By Presidential Order of U.S. President Gerald FordGerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, Welch was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. His death helped turn the political tide back in favor of the CIA after the damning revelations by the Church Committee
Church Committee
The Church Committee is the common term referring to the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church in 1975. A precursor to the U.S...
earlier in 1975.
Welch's murder contributed to passage of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act
Intelligence Identities Protection Act
The Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 is a United States federal law that makes it a federal crime for those with access to classified information, or those who systematically seek to identify and expose covert agents and have reason to believe that it will harm the foreign...
of 1982, making it illegal to reveal the name of an agent who has a covert relationship with an American intelligence organization.
In July 2002, a hospital employee named Pavlos Serifis (born 1956) confessed that he had participated in Welch's murder along with 17N's alleged mastermind Alexandros D. Giotopoulos (born 1944), Pavlos's uncle Ioannis Serifis (born 1938), and a tall, blonde "Anna." That confession, however, contained factual errors. A code name "Vangelis" assigned to him by police after study of 17N's financial notebooks seems to have been incorrect.
Charges for the Welch murder were not brought because the 20-year statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
had expired. Giotopoulos was sentenced to multiple life terms in 2003 as the moral instigator of a string of assassinations, bombings, rocket attacks, and bank robberies from 1983-2000. Ioannis Serifis was acquitted. Pavlos Serifis was convicted of membership in a terrorist group but released on health grounds. An appeals court ruled in 2007 that the statute of limitations had expired for that crime.
Sources
- Arlington Cemetery
- Greek Assassins Arrested, Association of Former Intelligence OfficersAssociation of Former Intelligence OfficersThe Association of Former Intelligence Officers , formerly known as the Association of Retired Intelligence Officers is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization founded in 1975 by David Atlee Phillips to counter widespread criticism of the United States intelligence community coming from...
, Weekly Intelligence Notes #31-02 5 August 2002. - Dirty Work: The CIA in Western Europe, by Philip Agee and Louis Wolf
- W. Thomas Smith - Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency