In 1991, Peggy Adler, author of
Trilogy: Three True Stories of Scoundrels and Schemers
, was retained by
self-proclaimed
CIA agent, arms dealer and money launderer, Richard Brenneke, to co-author his autobiography. She soon discovered evidence in his files contradicting claims regarding his presence at October Surprise conspiracy meetings and went on to out Brenneke as a con artist in a February 1992 article in the "Village Voice".
Adler then researched a series of additional articles for the "Voice", which went on to prove that the so-called "October Surprise" was a hoax.
In mid-1992, upon learning that the United States House of Representatives had created a
Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in1980
, which would be investigating whether or not there actually had been an "October Surprise", she turned over to them the seventy cartons of documents she'd hauled east from Brenneke's home in Portland, Oregon, in order to write his memoirs.
Subsequently, she worked as a consultant to the Task Force and assisted in drafting and editing the Brenneke section of their final report.
Chapter one of this book recounts the Brenneke story, from 1973 forward, including her own odyssey with this scoundrel.
Chapter two reveals how Oliver North and Richard Secord's Iran-Contra pal, Albert Hakim, was well aware that it was possible to get money out of a Swiss bank account without ever being a signatory - for he'd facilitated just that, years before.
And Chapter three traces Roger Ailes relationship to the Will Horton commercial that helped sink George Dukakis' hope for the presidency.
The Independent Publisher Book Awards (aka IPPY) shine a spotlight on what they consider to be outstanding literary work. Their awards director says, "This award recognizes excellence in independent publishing across various genres, in categories ranging from Autobiography to Audiobooks, with additional recognition given to twelve geographic regions spanning the globe". Vying for these prestigious awards in 2024 were 1800 entries representing 33 countries worldwide. Thus, it is BearManor Media's honor to announce that the audiobook of their author Peggy Adler's "Trilogy - Three True Stories of Scoundrels and Schemers", as read by Peter Coyote, has been awarded a Gold Medal.