WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — Retired CIA spymaster Richard F. “Dick” Stolz has died in Virginia from complications from a fall. He was 86.
His death June 9 was reported by The Washington Post and confirmed Wednesday by Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.
Stolz joined the CIA in 1950 and became one of the spy agency’s most respected operatives. He was the CIA’s top spymaster when he was called out of retirement in 1987 in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal, which involved the sale of weapons to Iran and the diversion of profits to the right-wing Nicaraguan rebels known as contras.
Then-CIA Director William H. Webster credits Stolz with helping restore confidence and credibility in the agency.
