Ron Rewald
Encyclopedia
Ron Rewald is a former Hawaii
investment advisor
, professional football player and self-described CIA
agent who was convicted of wire fraud and mail fraud in 1985.
, where he played football, however there is evidence that this was a fabrication and that he actually attended the Milwaukee Area Technical College
. According to Rewald, he attended the Milwaukee Institute of Technology, then spent a year working for the CIA monitoring underground anti-government activity at the University of Wisconsin - Madison before leaving the CIA and attending Marquette University. Rewald's football skills attracted interest from professional teams in the National Football League
and American Football League
. He signed with the Cleveland Browns
in 1965 and trained with the Kansas City Chiefs
in 1966. In 1965 Rewald played halfback for the West Allis Racers in the Central States Football League while on a one year leave of absence from the Chiefs. Ron also spent three years playing for the Baltimore Colts before quitting to spend more time with his family. After the NFL, Ron became President of a sporting goods store in Wisconsin called College Athletic and expanded the store across Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio before selling the franchise and moving to Hawaii with his wife and five children.
who had no connection with the business: Charles Reed Bishop
, Henry Alexander Baldwin
and Benjamin Dillingham
. However, Rewald claims that he was working for the CIA at the time and that the firm was set up by the CIA to serve as a cover for himself and 22 other CIA agents. The firm claimed that funds were guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
up to $150,000 and that minimum returns of 20% annually were guaranteed. (As the firm was not a chartered bank it was not eligible for FDIC insurance.)
In 1983, the Internal Revenue Service
began an investigation of Rewald when his firm's false FDIC insurance claims were discovered. On July 29, 1983, Rewald attempted suicide at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, allegedly because the media was on the verge of exposing his background. Six days later, the company was forced into bankruptcy. Rewald was arrested on August 8, 1983, immediately after his release from the hospital, and was charged with theft by deception. He was held in lieu of $10 million bail. He faced 98 charges and a maximum of 400 years in prison. Sunlin Wong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
In reality, the investment firm had been a Ponzi scheme
. Rewald used money from new investors to pay interest to earlier investors, all the while siphoning off funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle. Rewald, however, claims that his work done at Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong and his lavish lifestyle were all part of his CIA cover and used to allow him to gather national intelligence.
. In September, 1984 ABC
News had broadcast a two-part investigation supporting his claims. The CIA denied any connection and filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). Rewald did present substantial evidence of the CIA connection and, at the CIA's request, all documents from the federal proceeding against Rewald were sealed on national security grounds.
Rewald's trial lasted for eleven weeks in 1985. 140 witnesses were called, including Jack Lord
, who admitted to knowing Rewald but denied that he was employed as a consultant. Rewald was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison.
on Terminal Island
, California
. Rewald remained on parole until 2001. As of 2010, Rewald lived in Los Angeles
and operated a talent agency in Beverly Hills.
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
investment advisor
Investment Advisor
The term Investment Advisor is an individual or firm who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities...
, professional football player and self-described CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent who was convicted of wire fraud and mail fraud in 1985.
Football career
Rewald claims to have attended Marquette UniversityMarquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
, where he played football, however there is evidence that this was a fabrication and that he actually attended the Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee Area Technical College is a two-year vocational-technical college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MATC offers day, evening, and weekend classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, West Allis, and Mequon. Enrollment is about 60,000...
. According to Rewald, he attended the Milwaukee Institute of Technology, then spent a year working for the CIA monitoring underground anti-government activity at the University of Wisconsin - Madison before leaving the CIA and attending Marquette University. Rewald's football skills attracted interest from professional teams in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
. He signed with the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1965 and trained with the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in 1966. In 1965 Rewald played halfback for the West Allis Racers in the Central States Football League while on a one year leave of absence from the Chiefs. Ron also spent three years playing for the Baltimore Colts before quitting to spend more time with his family. After the NFL, Ron became President of a sporting goods store in Wisconsin called College Athletic and expanded the store across Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio before selling the franchise and moving to Hawaii with his wife and five children.
Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong
In 1978 Rewald established an investment firm in Hawaii called "Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong". The firm's name incorporated the names of Rewald and his partner Sunlin Wong along with the names of three prominent kama'ainaKama'aina
Kamaʻāina is the Hawaiian language word for a long-term resident of the Hawaiian Islands. Literally "child of the land," it derives from the words "kama", meaning "child", and "ʻāina", meaning 'land'...
who had no connection with the business: Charles Reed Bishop
Charles Reed Bishop
Charles Reed Bishop was a businessman and philanthropist in Hawaii.Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there. Bishop was one of the first trustees of and a major donor to the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii...
, Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin or Harry Alexander Baldwin was a sugarcane plantation manager, and politician who served as Congressional Delegate to the United States House of Representatives representing the Territory of Hawaii...
and Benjamin Dillingham
Benjamin Dillingham
Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was a businessman and industrialist during the late Kingdom of Hawaii era, throughout the period of the Republic of Hawaii, and during the first two decades of the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:...
. However, Rewald claims that he was working for the CIA at the time and that the firm was set up by the CIA to serve as a cover for himself and 22 other CIA agents. The firm claimed that funds were guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
up to $150,000 and that minimum returns of 20% annually were guaranteed. (As the firm was not a chartered bank it was not eligible for FDIC insurance.)
In 1983, the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
began an investigation of Rewald when his firm's false FDIC insurance claims were discovered. On July 29, 1983, Rewald attempted suicide at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, allegedly because the media was on the verge of exposing his background. Six days later, the company was forced into bankruptcy. Rewald was arrested on August 8, 1983, immediately after his release from the hospital, and was charged with theft by deception. He was held in lieu of $10 million bail. He faced 98 charges and a maximum of 400 years in prison. Sunlin Wong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
In reality, the investment firm had been a Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
. Rewald used money from new investors to pay interest to earlier investors, all the while siphoning off funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle. Rewald, however, claims that his work done at Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong and his lavish lifestyle were all part of his CIA cover and used to allow him to gather national intelligence.
Trial
Rewald presented a surprising defense, claiming that his business had been a front for the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. In September, 1984 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
News had broadcast a two-part investigation supporting his claims. The CIA denied any connection and filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC). Rewald did present substantial evidence of the CIA connection and, at the CIA's request, all documents from the federal proceeding against Rewald were sealed on national security grounds.
Rewald's trial lasted for eleven weeks in 1985. 140 witnesses were called, including Jack Lord
Jack Lord
John Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career,...
, who admitted to knowing Rewald but denied that he was employed as a consultant. Rewald was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison.
Release
In 1995 Rewald was released on parole from the Federal Correctional InstitutionFederal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island
Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island is a low-security prison for men located on Reservation Point on Terminal Island and in San Pedro, Los Angeles. The other Federal prison in the Los Angeles area is the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles...
on Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Rewald remained on parole until 2001. As of 2010, Rewald lived in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and operated a talent agency in Beverly Hills.
External links
- In the Matter of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong,inc., a Hawaii Corporation, Debtor.reynaldo D. Graulty, Trustee of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald,dillingham & Wong, Inc., and Not Individually,plaintiff-appellant, v. Bank of Hawaii, Defendant-appellee - 856 F.2d 78
- United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Ronald Rewald, Defendant-appellant - 835 F.2d 215
- Riches v. Rewald et al
- RONALD R. REWALD, PETITIONER V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA