Thursday, February 15, 2024

Todd Zechel's "Associated Investigators Reports" (AIR) uploaded

Todd Zechel was one of the most colourful characters within ufology in the 1970s-1980s, up there with Rick Doty, Bob Lazar and Gordon Novel. (The life of any one of them could make an entertaining movie...).

Todd Zechel is probably most famous within ufology for his work on Freedom Of Information requests, and related litigation, in the late 1970s.

Zechel was also involved in research into (and, according to several researchers, the hoaxer of) at least one alleged UFO crash, in addition to (contentious) allegations relating to the involvement of the CIA in ufology.

Bruce Maccabee wrote in 1998 that Todd Zechel had been "an important figure in UFO research" about 15 years before that and that Zechel's approach "was to do anything which would advance his agenda, even at the expense and I mean $$$, of other people". Comments about Zechel by some other researchers, e.g. Jerry Clark, have been even harsher. Zechel regularly featured in the ufological gossip reported in "Saucer Smear".

Zechel's "Associated Investigators Group" wrote several "Reports" and other items, which were sent to various UFO researchers.

I've uploaded the text of Associated Investigator's Report number 1 and a scanned copy of Report number "1 1/2", plus some further AIG material to a directory at the link below (together with the AIG's report on the MJ12 hoax and a long Freedom Of Information Act Request which is more like an article than a typical FOIA request...:

From a letter written by Todd Zechel, I think there may have been a Associated Investigator's Report Number 2.

Frank Riccardi used to post material by, and about, Todd Zechel on the now-defunct Eyepod website. That material included the item available via the Wayback Machine's Internet Archive about a planned book by Todd Zechel (which included alleged revelations about the CIA's involvement in ufology).

Unfortunately, both Todd Zechel and Frank Riccardi have passed away - no one else appears to have published further information about that (potential?) book.  I posted a query in a Yahoo Group associated with Frank Riccardi's "Eyepod" website in 2014, without any response.





No comments:

Post a Comment