Nicolas de Rochefort

Count Nicolas de Rochefort

Russian-born immigrant and scriptwriter for Voice of America who served as NICAP's first vice-chairman. Unknown to other NICAP members, de Rochefort was also a member of the CIA's psychological warfare staff.

Dolan highlights de Rochefort as the most significant example of CIA infiltration into NICAP from its founding. His boss at CIA, Colonel Joseph Bryan III, later joined NICAP's Board of Governors in 1960. De Rochefort's dual role — simultaneously leading a civilian UFO group and serving in CIA psychological warfare — exemplifies the intelligence community's strategy of monitoring and potentially controlling civilian UFO research from within.