Frank R. Wallace

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For others of the same name, see Frank Wallace.


Dr. Frank R. Wallace (pen name of Dr. Wallace Ward) (1932–2006) was an American author, publisher, mail-order magnate[1], and convicted income-tax evader[2], best known as the originator of the philosophy of Neo-Tech. Wallace also successfully challenged the oath used in court prior to testifying to be changed to replace the word "truth" with the phrase "fully-integrated honesty."

Contents

[edit] Education and career

Wallace graduated from Colby College in 1954. In 1957 he earned his doctorate in Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry from the State University of Iowa. He then worked for nine years as a research chemist for DuPont. He then turned to philosophy and started I & O Publishing in 1968 and served as president, publisher, and editor, writing many books and articles under various pen names.[3]

[edit] Publishing company

Main article: Integrated Management Associates

Wallace owned the controversial Integrated Management Associates publishing company, a spin-off of I & O that publishes books and articles by various writers (including himself) concerning Neo-Tech.

Australian Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech criticized Neo-Tech as a group of "con-artists", for claiming to select "a small handful of 'special' individuals" to receive "secret wisdom of ages", and then asking the individuals to pay money to obtain these "secrets".[4] Similarly, Tony Levene of The Guardian noted that the company was the subject of a 2000 ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom, in which the Authority stated that Neo-Tech had "not provided evidence, other than anecdotal, to show the guaranteed earnings, improvements to health, and other benefits" which Neo-Tech claimed to offer "had been, or could be, attained".[5]

[edit] Neo-Tech philosophy

Wallace's Neo-Tech philosophy claims to be an offshoot of Objectivist philosophy. Besides supporting full laissez-faire capitalism, Neo-Tech also makes several fringe claims, such as saying that the luminiferous aether exists,[6] and that non-supernatural intelligent beings, called "Zons", created our universe.[7]

In an essay titled Liberating Objectivism, Wallace claims that the claim regarding "Zons" is being subjected to "popish attacks ... especially on its physics, on its view of civilization, on its view of the Universe". The same essay also states that "The Zonpower theories and hypotheses are presented as metaphors, not proven facts."[8]

Comic book author Alan Grant wrote a four part Anarky miniseries for DC Comics which was based on Wallace's Neo-Tech philosophy. Grant explained: "I felt [Anarky] was the perfect character [to express the Neo-Tech philosophy] because he's human, he has no special powers, the only power he's got is the power of his own rational consciousness."[9] This was followed in 1999 with a short lived and financially unsuccessful, ongoing Anarky series.

[edit] The Honesty Oath

On March 29, 1990, Ward was indicted on three counts of tax evasion under 26 U.S.C. § 7201 and three counts of willful failure to timely file Federal income tax returns or pay taxes under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.

At his trial, Ward filed a “Motion to Challenge the Oath.” He proposed an alternative oath written by him, to be used before testifying. His alternative oath was to be worded as follows: “Do you affirm to speak with fully integrated Honesty, only with fully integrated Honesty and nothing but fully integrated Honesty?” The court denied Ward’s request, stating that the standard oath “which has been administered in courts of law throughout the United States [ . . . ] should not be required to give way to the defendant’s idiosyncratic distinctions between truth and honesty.” The court would not allow Ward to testify in his defense unless he took the standard oath.[10]

Ward made an opening statement at the trial, and cross-examined government witnesses. He also offered a compromise whereby he would take both the standard oath and his own oath, and the court denied that request. Ward presented no witnesses on his own behalf, and did not testify himself. He was convicted on all charges.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed Ward’s conviction, stating that his belief was apparently sincere, and that his sincere belief was protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals quoted from the Fourth Circuit opinion in the case of United States v. Looper[11] to the effect that “[a]ll the common law requires is a form or statement which impresses upon the mind and conscience of a witness the necessity for telling the truth. Thus, defendant’s privilege to testify may not be denied him solely because he would not accede to a form of oath or affirmation not required by the common law”.[12]

Ward was allowed to use his own oath in a re-trial. At the re-trial, on December 2, 1993, Ward was convicted in connection with tax evasion on combined personal income of over $438,000 for years 1983, 1984, and 1985, and combined income of over $614,000 for his company (I&O Publishing) for those years, and he was sent to prison. Ward’s challenges to the imposition of civil tax fraud penalties were rejected.[13]

[edit] Death

On January 26, 2006 while Wallace was jogging in Henderson, Nevada, he was struck and killed by a car. He was 73 years old.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daily News of Los Angeles (August 20, 1992). Tax-Evasion Conviction Reversed.
  2. ^ U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, I & O PUBLISHING CO INC V IRS, Case no. 96-70117, filed 12/16/97
  3. ^ Colby Magazine, Summer 2006, Vol 95, No 2
  4. ^ (2005). 'Mystical' letter scam warning. The Age Online.
  5. ^ Levene, Tony (2005). Capital Letters: Secret society rubbish is fit only for the bin. The Guardian.
  6. ^ Zonpower from Cyberspace. neo-tech.com. Accessed June 18, 2003
  7. ^ Pax Neo-Tech. neo-tech.com. Accessed May 17, 2006.
  8. ^ Liberating Objectivism. neo-tech.com. Accessed Dec 20, 2006.
  9. ^ Holy Penis Collapsor Batman! DC Publishes The First Zonpower Comic Book!?!?!. gocomics.com. Accessed February 18, 1998
  10. ^ United States v. Ward, 989 F.2d 1015 (9th Cir. 1992).
  11. ^ 419 F.2d 1405, 1407 (4th Cir. 1969).
  12. ^ United States v. Ward, 989 F.2d 1015 (9th Cir. 1992).
  13. ^ Ward v. Commissioner, 69 T.C.M. (CCH) 3025, Dec. 50,721(M), 1995-286 (1995), aff’d sub nom. I&O Publishing Co. v. Commissioner, 131 F.3d 1314, 98-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,115 (9th Cir. 1997).
  14. ^ Henderson man accident victim, Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 28, 2006.

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