John Deuss has faced toughscrapes before

Around thistime, David Corn wrote the book, Blond Ghost, which was ahatchet job, singling out Shackley Rosetta Stone V3 for all manor of crimesand misdemeanors. [emphasis added]I asked Ted why hedidn't respond to what he regarded as the blatant untruthsCorn wrote about him. He replied that even if he could,there would be little point in doing so. The CIA is theLeft's favorite whipping boy and he, Shackley, operated inits darkest corridors. He felt the bias in the book would beapparent to any level-headed person who bothered to read it.The problem is that since Shackley's death, there hasbeen no one to defend him from the book's accusations. Apity. Shackley had mixed feelings about the Agency but wasintensely loyal to his former comrades. I remembermeeting Shackley in Washington where he took former CIAchief William Colby to lunch. Colby, now long since deceasedas well, recounted a number of experiences from the headydays of the Vietnam War. News reports ofinvestigations into Deuss' empire by UK and Dutch taxauthorities are both colorful and bizarre. The allegationssuggest someone who has lost all sense of proportion, not tomention misjudging the risks involved. This isn't the JohnDeuss I once knew. He was too sensible or clever to becaught up in something like this. (He once remarked inan offhand way how foolish he thought Marc Rich was inflaunting the law.) John Deuss has faced toughscrapes before. Don't count him out yet. J.P.DonlonChief Executive magazinewww.chiefexecutive.net LEDA SANFORDINTERVIEW: LedaSanford Suzan Mazur: Would youdescribe your first meeting with John Deuss? LedaSanford: I met John Deuss in January 1978 at a timewhen he urgently needed a person to pick up the pieces ofhis Chief Executive magazine and produce the fourthissue. It was an unforgettable encounter because of thedramatic setting of his office on the19th floor of theOlympic Towers and his own striking appearance. Deussseemed a bit sinister. His face appeared slanted and he hada sort of "Hitler hairdo". But when he smiled and put outhis hand to welcome me I relaxed.It was 6pm. The Rosetta Stone Hindi NewYork sky was dark behind the spires of St. Patrick'sCathedral, silhouetted in the floor-to-ceiling windows ofhis office.Deuss was impressed that I'd worked forRaymond K. Mason, as president and publisher of AmericanHome magazine. Mason was the owner of CharterPublishing, the third largest publishing company in the USat the time. Mason was also chairman and founder of Charter Oil.Prior to my becoming publisher of American Home, I'd been editor-in-chief of Men'sWear, a magazine put out by Fairchild [also publisher of Women's Wear Daily -- the bible of the fashionindustry]. I distinctly remember how uncomfortable itwas for Deuss to admit that he was in a predicament. [emphasis added] Suzan Mazur: What was thepredicament? Leda Sanford: He was trusting. And he had allowed a man named Henry O. Dormann, apparently"inventor" of the idea of Chief Executive, tooperate without proper oversight. He'd met Dormann in Africain a hotel lobby and it was there that Dormann sold him onthe idea for the magazine. Deuss put a lot of money intothe magazine. Suzan Mazur: How much? LedaSanford: Nobody was keeping track. But then Deusshad to abruptly fire Dormann. Dormann had also been askingfor extravagance -- a marble bathroom, etc.But whenDormann left, he took the company files and advertisinginsertion orders with him. And he set up his own company afew blocks away, announcing that Chief Executivemagazine had changed its name to Leaders. Thatadvertising materials should be sent to the new address of Leaders. Suzan Mazur: Why did youdecide to take the Chief Executive AssociatePublisher/Editor position?Leda Sanford: I likechallenge. I took the job because it was different. And itwould cause me to stretch.Deuss did not want to close themagazine over the Dormann incident. The magazine was auseful tool for gaining access to CEOs and politicians,which could benefit Joc Oil. He needed someone who couldjump in quickly, oversee production and editorial, andconvince the ad agencies who had committed to the fourthissue of Chief Executive scheduled for April 1978, thattheir commitment was indeed to his magazine. Deuss wascordial and emphatic during that first meeting. He askedwhat I wanted as salary, and he asked me to prepare a budget& recommendations for a small staff. And the fourth issueof Chief Executive, did indeed, come out on time --with a profile of Ian Smith, the new prime minister ofRhodesia on the cover. It was Rosetta Stone Korean designed by Paul Hardy, theart director I worked with throughout mycareer. Ian Smith, then the newprime minister of Rhodesia on the cover of ChiefExecutive magazine Suzan Mazur: Was Deuss a hands-on editor-in-chief? LedaSanford: Deuss gave me complete autonomy. His onlyinvolvement was conducting the major interviews thatappeared in the magazine.