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James McCord

James W. McCord was one of the first of the president's men to take the fall for Watergate. After leaving the infamous piece of tape on a door in the Watergate building that alerted a security guard to the break-in, he was arrested the night of the burglary along with the four other men, pleaded guilty, and was convicted on six counts. However, he later wrote a letter to Judge John J. Sirica claiming that the defendants had pleaded guilty under pressure (from John Dean and John Mitchell, among others) and that perjury had been committed. McCord's allegations that the White House knew of the burglary and attempt to cover it up were crucial in causing investigators to push further.

McCord was the security director of the Committee for the Reelection of the President at the time and had formerly worked as an officer in the CIA and FBI. After retiring from the CIA, he operated his own security consulting firm in Rockville, McCord Associates, and secured a contract to provide security to the Republican National Committee. He was also a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. In 1974 he published a book entitled, "A Piece of Tape -- The Watergate Story: Fact and Fiction."

McCord lives in Rockville, Md.