Melvyn R. Paisley
Encyclopedia
Melvyn R. Paisley was United States
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems) from 1981 to 1987; in 1991, he admitted that while in office he had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes and was sentenced to four years in prison.
. His father was a lumberjack
and his mother was a cook
, and Paisley grew up in a logging
camp. During World War II
, Paisley enrolled in the United States Army Air Corps
and became a distinguished pilot
. He downed several enemy airplanes and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
and the Silver Star
.
After the war, Paisley studied engineering
, receiving a bachelor's degree
from the American Institute of Technology in 1953 and a master's degree
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1954.
In 1954, Paisley joined Boeing
. His first job was working as an engineer on the CIM-10 Bomarc. In 1959, he became head of the electronics
staff for the LGM-30 Minuteman
, focused on the development of a radio
launch system. In 1961, he became engineering manager of the Minuteman facility at Great Falls, Montana
. He later headed Boeing's efforts on the Safeguard Program
and later as electronics proposal manager for the B-1 Lancer
. In 1971, he became head of Boeing's Evergreen 747 Supertanker program. Finally, he was promoted to the role of Boeing's Director of Planning.
Paisley was close with John Lehman
, and when Lehman became United States Secretary of the Navy
in 1981, Lehman convinced President of the United States
Ronald Reagan
to nominate Paisley as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). He held this office from December 1981 until March 1987. Lehman and Paisley gained a reputation as being somewhat heavy-handed as managers, but effective at slashing red tape
.
In 1986, federal prosecutors sued Paisley, arguing that a $183,000 severance package
Paisley received upon leaving Boeing compromised his objectivity as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). The Supreme Court of the United States
later ruled that such severance packages were not illegal.
Upon leaving government in 1987, Paisley began work as a consultant
, guiding companies like Martin Marietta
and United Technologies Corporation
through the procurement
process.
In 1991, federal prosecutors indicted Paisley for receiving bribes during his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). In the course of pleading guilty, Paisley admitted that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an Israel
i manufacturer of pilotless reconnaissance planes
and for providing confidential information to allow the Sperry Corporation
to enable them to win a bid for the Aegis Combat System
. Paisley was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $50,000.
Paisley was released from prison in 1995. He spent the rest of his time painting
and collecting World War II films. Shortly before his death, Paisley was a consultant for Shooting War, a two-hour documentary about World War II narrated by Tom Hanks
.
Paisley died of cancer
on December 19, 2001.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems) from 1981 to 1987; in 1991, he admitted that while in office he had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Biography
Melvyn R. Paisley was born on October 9, 1924, in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. His father was a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
and his mother was a cook
Cook (profession)
A cook is a person who prepares food for consumption. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada this profession requires government approval ....
, and Paisley grew up in a logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
camp. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Paisley enrolled in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
and became a distinguished pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. He downed several enemy airplanes and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
and the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
.
After the war, Paisley studied engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, receiving a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the American Institute of Technology in 1953 and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1954.
In 1954, Paisley joined Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
. His first job was working as an engineer on the CIM-10 Bomarc. In 1959, he became head of the electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
staff for the LGM-30 Minuteman
LGM-30 Minuteman
The LGM-30 Minuteman is a U.S. nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile . As of 2010, the version LGM-30G Minuteman-III is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States...
, focused on the development of a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
launch system. In 1961, he became engineering manager of the Minuteman facility at Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
. He later headed Boeing's efforts on the Safeguard Program
Safeguard Program
The Safeguard Program was a United States Army anti-ballistic missile system developed during the late 1960s. Safeguard was designed to protect U.S. ICBM missile sites from counterforce attack, thus preserving the option of an unimpeded retaliatory strike. Safeguard used much of the same technology...
and later as electronics proposal manager for the B-1 Lancer
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
. In 1971, he became head of Boeing's Evergreen 747 Supertanker program. Finally, he was promoted to the role of Boeing's Director of Planning.
Paisley was close with John Lehman
John Lehman
John F. Lehman, Jr. is an American investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and in 2003–04 was a member of the 9/11 Commission....
, and when Lehman became United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
in 1981, Lehman convinced President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
to nominate Paisley as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). He held this office from December 1981 until March 1987. Lehman and Paisley gained a reputation as being somewhat heavy-handed as managers, but effective at slashing red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
.
In 1986, federal prosecutors sued Paisley, arguing that a $183,000 severance package
Severance package
A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. In addition to the employee's remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:* An additional payment based on months of service...
Paisley received upon leaving Boeing compromised his objectivity as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). The Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
later ruled that such severance packages were not illegal.
Upon leaving government in 1987, Paisley began work as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
, guiding companies like Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...
and United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut...
through the procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
process.
In 1991, federal prosecutors indicted Paisley for receiving bribes during his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). In the course of pleading guilty, Paisley admitted that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i manufacturer of pilotless reconnaissance planes
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
and for providing confidential information to allow the Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
to enable them to win a bid for the Aegis Combat System
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
. Paisley was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $50,000.
Paisley was released from prison in 1995. He spent the rest of his time painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and collecting World War II films. Shortly before his death, Paisley was a consultant for Shooting War, a two-hour documentary about World War II narrated by Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
.
Paisley died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on December 19, 2001.