But in August, a month before the scheduled September 9 release date, a promotional page for the book on publisher William Morrows website disappeared without explanation. Smith, suddenly, was in need of a new source of income. Salt (2010) ARCHIVED. The jury ruled in favor of the Sanfords, but Smith has paid back almost none of the money, according to their attorney. It offers a unique perspective into military contractors and we believe the exploits in the book. Later, the $10 million was transferred to an account that allowed Smith to invest it in new assets, including land and other necessities for SCG. At the end, he apologized for that, sounding almost resigned. Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier starred. Five CIA veterans familiar with Smiths story spoke with The Daily Beast and all supported Hughess assessment of Smiths veracity. Rush maintains that, even though Smiths backstory didnt hold up, the services SCG provided to its clients and the Air Force were legit: student reviews and official assessments were consistently positive, he says. SCG had secured three small Navy contracts in 2005, but a seat at the big boys table required the kind of seed money necessary to hire serious people and build new facilities. Sign up today. Titus had not been allowed to practice law for four years, but he did a lot of legal work for Smith anyway. Batesville has a Cracker Barrel, a Super Walmart, a coffin factory, and a hell of a good football team. During the training sessions down south, Smith often talked about SCGs driving philosophy, lecturing students inside an old house trailer that had been turned into a classroom. Jamie serves as Minority Leader in the South Dakota House of Representatives, where he has delivered bipartisan solutions for the people of South Dakota. During the fraud trial, Smith stuck to a story that he had never met the Sanfords, even after being presented with an email he had written to Craig Sanford explicitly saying it had been nice to meet him. Instead, according to Smiths bank statements included in court documents and in sworn testimony, he used the money to make a string of bad investments, fund his business, pay off credit cards, upgrade his wifes wedding ring, and buy a Mercedes-Benz. Gray Works back cover features quotes from some impressive names, including CIA veteran Baer and retired Army Delta Force commander Colonel Lee Van Arsdale. Period, Johnson said. Smith next paid off tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. In 2009, SCG was hired to work on behalf of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007. View In Gallery. He is a subject matter expert in terrorism, security and tactical / firearms training and currently is an advisor / board member to two global private military companies. kristi noem's reelection campaign. Neither Smith nor Titus describe the money as lost, either. Jamie Smith, a self-described CIA operative and co-founder of private military company Blackwater, has optioned his just-published memoir "Gray Work: Confessions of an American Paramilitary. If he holds up ten fingers, I know there's really only two, travel writer Robert Young Pelton once said of Smith. Related Industries. But it definitely is an issue for former members of the CIA. In addition, Smith was hired in 2009 to help in the effort to rescue Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who is believed to be a hostage in Iran. Smith, who is now 44, grew up in a north Mississippi town called Batesville, a working-class community of 7,400 people, 63 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, on I-55. Another: Never give up your cover story. He has a knack for learning things and doing well at them.. Prince subsequently. Previous Slide Among other things, he began carrying a concealed weapon, bought an armored Suburban, and purchased a protection dog from Boudreaus outfit, Baden K-9. After Smith graduated from high school in 1988, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, along with his hometown friend Clay Fisher. He expected Smith to tell him about existing, successful projects in the region as a way to establish credibility, but that never happened. In October 2012 the government shut down his lucrative contracting business. Smith loved telling friends and potential clients the story of a mission he ran, which supposedly involved rescuing Pelton from a right-wing paramilitary group in Colombia. But a call to Ole Miss showed he graduated on time with no break in his education, according to Danny Blanton, the universitys director of public relations. Two months after he hired Titus, Smith started referring to him as his general counsel in correspondence about the World War II movie. Warner Bros. Some called it G.I. What could possibly go wrong? Id crawl under a hole at that point and never come out., And its still an issue for Larry Johnson, another former CIA officer whose extensive comments about Smiths claims are best summed up by a stand-alone quote in the Outside article: Horseshit., In an interview with The Daily Beast, Smith responded to his critics: Well, the field that Im insecurity contracting and private military contractingis a very competitive field and a lot of people play dirty pool in that arena, he said. Rush says Smith didnt have the balls to do it. Smiths claim that he was a CIA officer overseas is important, because its a major basis for his entire career. Jamie Luke Smith (born 12 July 2000) is an English cricketer. John Carpenter directed this camp classic that sees a drifter discover a special pair of sunglasses that reveal that aliens have taken over the world. Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early career 1.2 College 1.3 Greenville Triumph 2 Personal life 3 References 4 External links Career [ edit] Early career [ edit] Frankly, Ive never listened to a better storyteller, was how Baer concluded the quote he provided in 2012. Perhaps Smiths book has, as he asserted in our interview, been fact-checked. The trouble was that Smith needed money to raise the companys profile. He was cocky and sure-footed, citing the Moscow Rules, a vintage collection of Cold War maxims for doing battle with the KGB. To be an eligible applicant to be a CIA officer, You have to be a college graduate. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. When pressed now, Smith says he was the founder of a division of it. Frankly, Ive never listened to better, is how the second line of Baers quote now appears on Gray Work, with storyteller left off. Plenty of people believed him, including the Air Force (which paid him $7 million to train personnel) and William Morrow, which signed him up to write his memoir. Before Jamie Smith came along, Craig Sanford, whos now 60, had been looking forward to completing his vacation house out on a lake the Sanfords love called Wallenpaupack. But his claim is that as basically a 20-year-old he was sent to the front lines of operations with no training., I can show you cleaning ladies and people that work in the cafeteria that have a CIA badge, Johnson said. The continuation of "The Godfather" saga, "Part II" featured a scene where antagonist Hyman Roth was assassinated in a nearly identical way to Lee Harvey Oswald. Gray Work was published in April by HarperCollins imprint William Morrow and Company, which moved forward with the book, claiming that the CIA itself vetted the manuscript. His college roommate Clay Fisher believes its just more of the same old comic-book adventure. He said he was working with a team of other spec-ops guys. There were pricey dinners, child-support payments for his brother, Todd (who later became SCGs vice president), school tuition for Smiths kids, and gun purchases. Smith represents District 15, which covers downtown neighborhoods, including areas around Terrace Park and the Great Plains Zoo, [2] in Sioux Falls. In December 2011, he reported to company vice president of intelligence Fred Burton that he was getting air cover from Congresswoman Myrick to engage Syrian opposition in Turkey (non-MB and non-Qatari) on a fact finding mission for Congress. Burton relayed the information to a Stratfor colleague in another e-mail, also later leaked. After two days of testimony, they awarded the Sanfords $9.8 million in damages. His victimsmany of them elderly or suffering from serious illnesseslost more than $10 million. Instead, he and Mary Jo are trying to rebuild their retirement fund. And from his perspective that was good, because it didnt take him long to decide that a lot of what Smith said didnt add up. Wag the Dog (1997) No car. I cant get into that, because its part of the book, and the agencys still reviewing that.. At the SCG compound in Holly Springs, Smith promised "real-world scenarios for real-world warriors.". The SCG compound was the hub for a major international operation that touted offices in London, Dubai, Islamabad, Buenos Aires, and Kabul. Readers are used to seeing prominent true-life accounts revealed as fabrications after they hit the shelves. But those endorsements dont actually add up to much. LEARN MORE iSSUES WHAT JAMIE FIGHTS FOR That morning, according to court documents, Smith drove up in a white Suburban loaded with suitcases, his wife, Allison, and three kids, two girls and a boy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Smith lost an appeal (PDF) in 2012, but still maintains that he plans to fight the judgment in court. Also Read: Gawker Removes Controversial Post About Conde Nast CFO. To date, though, aside from the transfer of a few minor assets, none of that money has been repaid. High school classmates recall that Jamie and his younger brother, Todd, bought a flashing blue light that they sometimes attached to the top of their car. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Did Jamie rip them off? Smith needed to find millions of dollars in working capital. James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. (Smith did not respond to requests for comment about this episode.). As well see, that arrangement also led to nothing but frustration for Smiths clients. After all his co-workers are killed, a CIA agent, played by Robert Redford, doesn't know who he can trust as he tries to solve the mystery. Smith bought a pile of expensive weapons, including several AR-15s, a camo-colored .308 sniper rifle, Uzis, MAC-10s, Glocks, and a stainless-steel assault rifle. Jamie is a wizard, he wrote. HarperCollins did not deny Baers assertion that he was never contacted by the publisher despite his blurb appearing on the books back cover. If you paid the $1,200 to go through a one-week SCG course, you knew you were heading into an experience that would be authentic. Gray Work was originally scheduled for publication in spring 2014. To go along with the 4,385-square-foot house he bought for his family in 2006, in the posh Pungo section of Virginia Beach, he put down half a million on an oceanside place in Hawaii that he called his vacation home. In early 2008, he started building the SCG headquarters in Holly Springs, on a logged-out piece of red-clay land. During SCGs heyday, between 2008 and 2012, the U.S. government and local law-enforcement agencies paid a lot of money to get people trained so they could function capably in war zones, shoot-outs, and other dicey situations. We found 15 records for Jamie Smith in Castalia, Arnolds Park and 9 other cities in Iowa. When Fisher had called him on it, Smith just laughed it off. Van Arsdale, for instance, told The Daily Beast that he has never met Smith. Nonetheless, he is able to, and can and will in this litigation, bringing to an end a malicious campaign of falsehood, disingenuous deceit, and flat out lies.. To further beef up the team, Smith hired a right-hand man named Dion DeLaurentis, who wore full-arm tattoos and a carefully groomed beard. Titus advised Smith, in e-mails obtained by federal prosecutors, to play hardball with the Sanfords, often in the Lords name. When the pastor wanted to recognize those whod served in Operation Desert Storm, both brothers stood. Even as CIA veterans question his tale, his publisher is doubling down. In 2009, Smith testified that he didnt see anything wrong with hiring Titus at SCG just three weeks after Titus had been indicted on fraud charges. That bad behavior included the alleged threat Craig Sanford made against Smith. Hes just one of those guys that cant not embellish a story.. The site was managed by indicted swindler Titus, and the family say they never saw a dime of any proceeds it may have generated. By October of that year, the records show that he was disenrolled from ROTC and discharged by the Mississippi National Guard. The story about getting shot appears to be true. While you pretended during exercises that the DROKs dangers were real, you had to ignore the fact that Holly Springs was actually a quaint little town known for soul food, a 24/7 Elvis shrine called Graceland Too, and antebellum homes that survived Civil War occupation by Union troops. Smith submitted an invoice with inflated charges. Then he flipped the questioning. Any number of things. Conversely, Baer said, when someone actually works in a place, if they get into details you can figure out within minutes whether its fraud or not.. The Sanfords were owed $12.5 million with interest. Today. Perhaps God is hardening Pharoahs [sic] heart to glorify himself and bless his people. Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman create a fake war to cover up a presidential scandal in an election year in this dramedy. Paramount He hadnt received a paycheck in ten months. True or not, Gray Works is at times a surprisingly gripping account. Craig and Mary Jo Sanford gave Smith the windfall from the sale of a business they had spent their life building. He has a history of fantasy and not paying his employees. Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris star. Jamie's Quotes "I don't train to be in a gunfight; I'd much rather be in a shootingthere's a difference. Tax. Jamie Smitha man who would say under oath that he wrote the curriculum the Marines use to protect generals and colonels overseaswas apparently scared of a 55-year-old Pennsylvania mechanic with a heart condition. The government tries to cover-up an alien colony established on Earth, and it's up to agents Mulder and Scully to unravel the mystery in this adaptation of the popular TV series. The implication is that whats left is there with the CIAs blessing. You are in the catbirds seat, Titus wrote on the day the Sanfords money was due. In all, Smiths military career appears to consist of just over a year spent in the training pipeline before he decided to voluntarily withdraw.. He appeared as a talking head who helped narrate the War on Terror for cable news viewers on nearly every network, from MSNBC to Fox News. By May 2009, having made several attempts over the previous 18 months to reach Smith without success, they stepped up their efforts. Fisher has known Smith since kindergarten, and at Ole Miss they were roommates and, briefly, fraternity brothers. As it turned out, these sayings were an apt description of how Smith often did business, because many things about himincluding his CIA past, his military background, and parts of his education rsumappear to be elaborate fabrications. The Air Force wont talk about Smith or SCG with us, and our attempt to find answers through a Freedom of Information Act request yielded only copies of contracts, the details of which, except for payment amounts and course dates, had all been redacted. Gray Work will launch his comeback. I am the advocate who will make sure every child in our state gets a high quality education. Smith represented himself in an appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court, but in November 2012, it ruled in favor of the Sanfords. As for the Air Force training, its unclear who exactly went through it. Outside magazine is now fighting a $30 million defamation lawsuit from Smith. the DROK, a make-believe Islamic country filled with terrorists, double agents, and an insane vigilante police force. Universal John Carpenter directed this camp classic that sees a drifter discover a special pair of sunglasses that reveal that aliens have taken over the world. Smith didnt arrive until the danger was over. So we walked around Bogot, did some shopping, and we flew home., The newspaper asked Pelton how much of what Smith said could be believed. They won, but they havent succeeded in getting him to pay up, partly because he left the country for much of the past two years and has been very hard to find. Its not clear what HarperCollins has done in the year-long pushback from the original release date. If you were lucky, Smith might tell you about the time he was shot in Pakistan or how he became a decorated CIA officer during the Gulf War. Usually what happens is you end up publishing it and then it pops up at you., What I would hope happensand it seems to me happens pretty much in every instancewhen the publishers find that [a book] has real flaws, problems, or inaccuracies, most often they end up taking it off the market. As for any lasting fallout from the fakes that make it through, Entrekin calls the backlash just another tiny chip in the wall., After the Outside article appeared, Baerwho is featured on the jacket and within the textassumed that the book would be buried. Morgan says he made one call and Jamie never appeared on Fox again. Captain America joins forces with Black Widow and Falcon to uncover a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D. At first, Smith agreed to grant us access to his BU records but later changed his mind. and, along the way, face off with an assassin known as Winter Soldier. The Sanfords werent the only people who say they were taken in. 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