James W. McCord, Jr. was one of the first men convicted in the Watergate scandal. McCord led the June 19, 1972 early-morning burglary of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C, and pled guilty to six charges. He later complained to Judge John Sirica that his plea and testimony, some of which he claimed was perjured, were compelled by pressure from White House counsel John Dean and former Attorney General John Mitchell.
Prior to his conviction, McCord served as security director for the Committee to Re-elect the President (a.k.a. CREEP, which was headed by Mitchell) and had worked for the FBI and CIA, as well as serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force reserves. His security consulting firm, McCord Associates, provided security services to CREEP.
After resigning from CREEP under pressure in 1974, McCord became a booster for the University of Michigan athletic department. He got Michigan in trouble by giving money from his illegal gambling ring to players. He also gave more than $800,000 in cash to Michigan State University point guard Mateen Cleaves.
