Jonathan Idema
Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema was an American con artist, mercenary and former United States Army reserve non-commissioned officer, known for his vigilante activities during the War in Afghanistan.
Formerly a soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces, Idema never saw combat and left the military in 1984 to form several companies centered around counterterrorism and internal security. Idema made numerous unverified claims about his military service and supposed terrorist threats, and experienced several lawsuits over various feuds.
In September 2004, Idema was found guilty of running an unlawful and unsanctioned private prison in Afghanistan and torturing Afghan citizens. At the time, Idema had been falsely portraying himself as a U.S. government-sponsored special forces operative on a mission to apprehend terrorists. The U.S. government repeatedly denied most of his claims.
Idema served three years of a ten-year sentence. He was released early by Afghanistan's then-president Hamid Karzai in April 2007, and left Afghanistan in early June for Mexico, where he died of AIDS in late January 2012.
Early life
Idema was raised in Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating from high school there in 1974. His father, former Marine and World War II veteran Herman John Idema, believed that his son was a "dedicated American". Herman John Idema died in November 2008.Military service
Idema enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1975. Two years after his enlistment, in 1977, he trained and qualified for the United States Army Special Forces.The nature of Idema's military service in the Special Forces is contentious. Tod Robberson of The Dallas Morning News noted that there was a discrepancy between what Idema claimed his military experience was and what is stated in his official military record. Idema repeatedly stated that he acquired 12 years of Special Forces service, 22 years of combat training, and 18 years of covert operations experience. However, per official records, Idema's military career was short and contained several reports of poor performance, with no recorded combat experience.
According to his military record obtained in the course of his 1994 fraud trial, after serving one term in the Special Forces, Idema was not allowed to reenlist. He had received numerous negative remarks from superior officers, in addition to participating in three non-judicial punishment proceedings between April 29, 1976 and April 28, 1977. Idema was cited for "failure to obey orders, being derelict in the performance of his duty, and being disrespectful to a superior commanding officer." One superior officer, Captain John D. Carlson, stated that Idema was "without a doubt the most unmotivated, unprofessional, immature enlisted man I have ever known."
Idema was given an honorable discharge and allowed to join the United States Army Reserve 11th Special Forces Group working to provide logistical support. In a November 1, 1980 letter of reprimand, Major Paul R. Decker wrote that Idema "consistently displayed an attitude of noncooperation with persons outside his immediate working environment, disregard for authority and gross immaturity characterized by irrationality and a tendency toward violence." In January 1981, Idema was relieved of his Army Reserve duties; his last position was the assistant sergeant of operations and intelligence. After leaving the Army Reserves, he became a member of the Individual Ready Reserve until he left the military completely in 1984.
Business interests
Several years after he left the Army, Idema became involved in the paintball business, opening a paintball supply and equipment company in Fayetteville, North Carolina, named Idema Combat Systems. He later segued that business into a paramilitary clothier and supply company operating under the same name.Sometime in the early 1980s Idema founded Counterr Group, a business entity which, according to its website, specialized in expert training for counter-terrorism, assault tactics, and other security-related services. Counterr Group's legal status and ownership was questionable; according to a Soldier of Fortune article published in 2004, Idema was mentioned as the owner. The company website listed an address in North Carolina, but there was no record of the company's registration in that state. However, a company called "Counter Group, Inc." had been incorporated in 1997 by William L. London, a lawyer who represented Idema in several lawsuits. The status for this company was listed as "suspended" as of 2004.
Counterr Group Academy was operational for at least ten years, from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. It was based at a small airstrip south of Route 199 in Red Hook, New York. There were several permanent staff, as well as visiting staff, all under the direction of Keith Idema. At least ten formal courses of training were offered. These included basic firearm safety, offered to the general public, as well as pistol, rifle and shotgun programs in both assault and combat roles, offered only to active military servicemen and police. Rappelling, both with and without a firearm component, was offered at the on-ground rappelling tower. The facilities included both interior and exterior "Hogan's Alley" style environments, equipped with reactive targets. Courses consisted of both classroom study and field exercises.
All advanced training was in a live-fire environment. Combat and assault courses lasted for three days. Trainees, up to 20 per course, lived and slept on the premises. Nighttime courses were conducted with starlight scopes.
The only company in North Carolina registered to Jonathan Idema is Idema Combat Systems, which, according to state records, was incorporated in January 1991 and dissolved in July 1994. The websites for Counter Group are registered to Thomas R. Bumback, a business associate of Idema's who is believed to be the company's current director. There is a record of Counterr Group being formed in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1983, but the company is listed as "inactive."
Idema also owned a company called Special Operations Exposition and Trade Show Inc., which hosted organized conventions for military equipment suppliers.
There are two other known companies, Isabeau Dakota, Inc. and Star America Aviation Company, Ltd., that have connections to Idema. The latter claims to be an aviation support company founded in July 2008 with operations based out of Dubai. Both companies are registered to William "Skip" London in North Carolina, but Isabeau Dakota is listed as a shell company; its last annual report, filed in 2002, identifies H. John Idema of Poughkeepsie as president and sole officer, and it lists no significant assets or business activity. The website for Star America Aviation is also registered to Bumback and the websites for Counterr Group and Star America Aviation are very similar, including the use of imagery depicting Idema in Afghanistan and prior to his arrest.
Idema's Afghan charity Northern Alliance Assistance in Fayetteville, North Carolina was later listed as a dog kennel.
Legal issues
In addition to his occasional entrepreneurial pursuits, Idema had a substantial criminal record. Over the years, Idema was charged with impersonating an officer, conspiracy, passing bad checks, assault, possession of stolen property, and discharging a firearm into a dwelling. In January 1994, Idema was arrested and charged with 58 counts of wire fraud, having allegedly defrauded 59 companies of about $260,000. He was convicted of the charges, sentenced to six years in prison and was subsequently ordered to pay restitution.Idema was also involved in multiple lawsuits, including suits against journalists, an aid worker, a colonel, his father, and the U.S. government. A prominent lawsuit filed by Idema against Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks Studios contended that Idema was the basis of a character in the 1997 Dreamworks film The Peacemaker. The claim was dismissed, and Idema was ordered to pay $267,079 in legal fees.
On August 15, 2001, a jury awarded Idema $781,818 for property damage and $1 million for punitive damages. The award came after a jury decided that a property manager improperly sold some of his belongings while Idema was serving his fraud sentence. Two property managers were hired by Idema to take care of a building that housed equipment for two of his businesses, Special Operations Exposition and Trade Show Inc., and Idema Combat Systems. According to the lawsuit, equipment was missing, damaged or destroyed, and holes were punched in the walls of the building. Idema sued both property managers and their wives on April 10, 2000, but everyone except for one property manager was later dropped from the suit. Idema never collected the $1.8 million because the property manager that was found liable declared bankruptcy, and Idema settled for $650,000 that he obtained through lawsuits filed against insurance carriers. Idema's father was the insured.
In June 2005, an investigator sued Idema alleging that he wasn't paid when Idema won the $1.8 million lawsuit. The investigator claimed that Idema orally agreed to pay 15% of any amount collected, he also claimed that Idema failed to pay court reporters, expert witnesses, and others who helped him with his case.
Lithuania and nuclear weapons smuggling claim
In 1993 Idema was contracted to train police forces in Lithuania. After his return, he contacted officials from both the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, claiming to have uncovered a conspiracy by the Russian mafia to smuggle nuclear materials out of Lithuania. According to Idema, FBI agents demanded he provide the names of his contacts. He refused, claiming that the FBI was infiltrated by KGB agents and that his sources would have been killed.It was around this time that Idema was being investigated for wire fraud and eventually convicted in 1994. The FBI began their investigation into Idema's activities as early as May 1991, before he even approached the FBI about Lithuania.