G. Gordon Liddy

George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and FBI agent who was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration. Working alongside E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in May and June 1972.

After five of Liddy's operatives were arrested inside the DNC offices on June 17, 1972, subsequent investigations of the Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation in 1974. Liddy was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and refusing to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate. He served nearly 52 months in federal prisons. He later joined with Timothy Leary for a series of debates on multiple college campuses, and similarly worked with Al Franken in the late 1990s.

Liddy served as a radio talk show host from 1992 until his retirement on July 27, 2012. His radio show as of 2009 was syndicated in 160 markets by Radio America and on both Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio stations in the United States. He was a guest panelist for Fox News Channel in addition to appearing in a cameo role or as a guest celebrity talent on several television shows.

Liddy was born in Brooklyn on November 30, 1930. His father, Sylvester James Liddy, was a lawyer; his mother was Maria (Abbaticchio). His family was of Irish and Italian descent. Liddy was named for George Gordon Battle, a noted attorney and Tammany Hall leader. He was raised in Hoboken and West Caldwell, New Jersey. He attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School, his father's alma mater, in Newark.

Liddy was educated at Fordham University, graduating in 1952. While at Fordham he was a member of the National Society of Pershing Rifles. Following graduation, Liddy joined the United States Army, serving for two years as an artillery officer during the Korean War. He was assigned to an antiaircraft radar unit in Brooklyn for medical reasons. In 1954, he was admitted to the Fordham University School of Law, earning a position on the Fordham Law Review.

After graduating in 1957, he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover. Liddy began his career with the FBI in 1957, initially serving as a field agent in Indiana and Denver. While stationed in Denver, he made a significant arrest on September 10, 1960: Ernest Tait, a notable criminal who had twice appeared on the Ten Most Wanted.

At age 29, Liddy became the youngest bureau supervisor at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Under the mentorship of deputy director Cartha DeLoach, Liddy secured a position on director J. Edgar Hoover's personal staff, even acting as Hoover's ghostwriter. Despite his achievements, Liddy was also known for his reckless behavior among his fellow agents, highlighted by two particular incidents.

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