Overview

Lester Paldy, a distinguished academic physicist, was tapped by the CIA in 1988 to join the Agency for a “trial run” as they faced a troubling new situation in Russia. That “temporary” assignment would last for 25 years, during which he would find himself tested by a shifting set of responsibilities, his ability to penetrate secret sites, his expertise in approaching and assessing targets for potential value to the Agency, and his personal commitment to breaking down long-held barriers between the CIA and the FBI. He achieved this by demonstrating to CIA officers and FBI special agents how to approach scientists in ways that fit smoothly into their research and organizational cultures. As long as Les Paldy remained at the CIA, agents from both intelligence bases would benefit from this unexpected opportunity. Even today, years after his official departure from the Agency, Les Paldy is invited to the FBI to support agents with his invaluable wisdom and experience. And now, the author extends an invitation to every reader to join him on his life-changing journey as the professor with “No Cloak, No Dagger.”

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9781538182147

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Les Paldy is one of a kind. His scientific and academic credentials gave him entrée to America’s most intractable enemies. His intellectual prowess and ability to engage foreign scientists provided CIA with eyes and ears in places others could not reach. His bravery and enthusiasm in planning and undertaking dangerous and difficult missions produced stunning results. -- Elinor Houghton Kelly, former senior CIA official and innovator Les Paldy contributed to our national security for well over 24 years by going to places where US intelligence officers were forbidden to go to identify the vulnerabilities of some of our foreign adversaries’ top weapons scientists. He worked with my team to sensitize our officers and FBI special agents to ways to approach foreign scientists for recruitment as clandestine sources. This was a crucial skill that heretofore had been missing in intelligence community training. -- James Lawler, former chief, CIA Counterproliferation Division Les served for many years as a teacher, mentor, traveling companion, and sounding board for myself and countless others in CIA’s Russia house. His knowledge and boundless enthusiasm made us smarter and more effective in countering Russia’s efforts. -- Laura Vollenweider, former CIA Intelligence Officer As an FBI detailee, I found the CIA culture very different from the FBI’s. No one did more to facilitate trust between the FBI and CIA than Les Paldy. Through his brilliance, kindness, and authenticity, he made a seismic difference. Les is the real deal, and this book is an amazing peek into his extraordinary life and career. -- Martin Gilvary, SSA FBI-retired

Author Information

Lester Paldy was a Marine Corps veteran and Distinguished Service Professor of Technology and Society at SUNY Stony Brook when the CIA invited him to be a Scholar in Residence to support U.S. nuclear weapon delegations in Geneva and at the UN. The temporary assignment turned into a decades-long gig as a contract intelligence officer and later a consultant at the FBI Counterintelligence Training Center. He earned the CIA’s Agency Seal and George Washington medals for exceptional service to the nation, is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Citation of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and is active in the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. Paldy is a nuclear arms control consultant at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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