Ted Gunderson | |
|---|---|
 Gunderson in his FBI office | |
| Born | (1928-11-07)November 7, 1928 |
| Died | July 31, 2011(2011-07-31) (aged 82) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupations | FBI Senior Special Agent In Charge, private investigator, speaker, author |
| Employer(s) | Federal Bureau of Investigation, private clients |
| Title | Senior Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles; Special Agent in Charge, Dallas, Memphis and Washington, D.C. offices, F.B.I. |
| Political party | Constitution |
Theodore L. Gunderson (November 7, 1928 – July 31, 2011) was an AmericanFederal Bureau of Investigation agent, author, andconspiracy theorist. Some of his FBI case work included theDeath of Marilyn Monroe and theAssassination of John F. Kennedy.[1] He was the author of the best-selling bookHow to Locate Anyone Anywhere Without Leaving Home.[2] In later life, he researched a number of topics, notably includingsatanic ritual abuse.[3]
Ted Gunderson was born inColorado Springs. He graduated from theUniversity of Nebraska in 1950.
In December 1951, Gunderson joined theFederal Bureau of Investigation underJ. Edgar Hoover. He served in theMobile,Knoxville,New York City, andAlbuquerque offices. He held posts as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge inNew Haven andPhiladelphia. In 1973, he became the head of theMemphis FBI office, and in 1975 became head of theDallas FBI office.[4] In 1977, Gunderson was appointed head of the Los Angeles FBI.[5] In 1979, he was one of a handful interviewed for the job of FBI director, which ultimately went toWilliam H. Webster.[6]
After retiring from the FBI, Gunderson set up a private investigation firm, Ted L. Gunderson and Associates, inSanta Monica. In 1980, he became a defense investigator forGreen Beret doctorJeffrey R. MacDonald, who had been convicted of the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters. Gunderson obtained affidavits from Helena Stoeckley confessing to her involvement in the murders which she claimed had in actuality been perpetrated by a Satanic cult of which she was a member.[7]
Stoeckley later took and passed apolygraph, with the military examiner concluding that Stoeckley truthfully believed that she was present at MacDonald's home during the murders. But because of her drug use during and after the murders, the examiner could not conclude if she was actually present at the scene of the murders.[8] Some time afterwards, Stoeckley changed her story and denied ever having seen MacDonald, and was adamant she was not involved.[9] Under oath, Stoeckley denied any culpability in murders, and any knowledge of who may have committed the acts.[10] On her deathbed at the age of 31, Stoeckley changed her story one final time and reiterated and reaffirmed that she was present during the murder of MacDonald's family and that MacDonald himself is innocent.[11][12]
Gunderson became a leading figure on the far-right[13] and a leading anti-government conspiracy theorist.[14]
Gunderson was involved in theMcMartin preschool case, at the heart of the 1980s "satanic panic".[15][16] He made numerous confident statements supporting the truth of the supposed abuse ring[17] and became a "recognized spokesman on the dangers of satanic ritual cults".[18]
In a 1995 conference inDallas, Gunderson warned about the proliferation of purported secret occultist groups, and the danger posed by theNew World Order, a conspiracy theory about an allegedshadow government that would be controlling theUnited States government.[19] He also claimed that a "slave auction" in which children were sold bySaudi Arabian agents to men had been held inLas Vegas, that four thousand ritual human sacrifices are performed inNew York City every year, and that the 1995bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building inOklahoma City was carried out by the U.S. government.[19]
Gunderson also claimed that in the United States, there is a secret widespread network of groups who kidnap children and infants and subject them toritual abuse and subsequent human sacrifice.[20][21]
TheSouthern Poverty Law Center believed Gunderson "played a pivotal role in the anti-government 'patriot' movement".[22] Gunderson alleged the U.S. government was preparing for mass executions by setting up a thousand internment camps and purchasing 30,000 guillotines.[23][24][25] He was also an architect of conspiracy theories around theOklahoma City bombing, promoting a narrative of an FBI coverup, and the idea that if McVeigh was one of the bombers then it was due to secret government mind control.[26]
Gunderson had an association with former music producer and conspiracy film makerAnthony J. Hilder. Hilder had interviewed him regarding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[27] He also appeared in Hilder'sReichstag '95 andIlluminazi 911 documentaries.[28][29]
Gunderson did not believe thatSonny Bono died in a skiing accident. Instead, Gunderson alleged that top officials linked to an international drug and weapons ring feared the singer-turned-politician was about to expose their crimes, so they had Bono murdered on the ski slopes and staged the accident.[30][31]
On July 31, 2011 Gunderson's son reported that his father had died from bladder cancer.[32]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
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