Silas Newton

Silas M. Newton (birth and death years unknown) was an American oilman, geophysicist, and notorious figure in early UFO lore. Owner of Newton Oil Company in Denver, Colorado, he claimed a Yale education and expertise in secret government research. In 1948, Newton and alias 'Dr. Gee' (Leo GeBauer) alleged a UFO crash in Aztec, New Mexico, with tiny 30-inch alien crews recovered by the Air Force, details shared with journalist Frank Scully for the 1950 bestseller Behind the Flying Saucers. On March 8, 1950, he lectured University of Denver students on saucer landings and magnetic fields, citing pseudoscientific claims like 1,257 lines of force per square centimeter. Exposed as frauds by the Denver Post in 1952, Newton and GeBauer were arrested for swindling $34,000 from a rancher via fake 'doodlebug' oil detectors. FBI files document his arrests and scams, debunking his UFO testimony as hoaxery.