---
category: Law Enforcement & Legal
summary: After law school, Boyak joined a Hollywood law firm and became involved in
  criminal defense work, representing a number of 'well placed West Coast drug traffickers.'
  He later moved to Utah, maintaining a part-time law practice in California.
tags:
- Person
- Lawyer
- LawEnforcement
---

[Allan Boyak](/people/allan-boyak/) is an attorney from Utah who represented [Michael Riconosciuto](/people/michael-riconosciuto/) in his drug case. Boyak had a background in the [U.S. Army Special Forces](/organizations/united-states-army-special-forces/) and reportedly did some contract work for the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) during the 1960s and early 1970s. He also worked briefly for the [DEA](/organizations/dea/) (or its antecedent agency) in [California](/places/california/) before leaving government service to attend law school.[^1]

After law school, Boyak joined a Hollywood law firm and became involved in criminal defense work, representing a number of "well placed West Coast drug traffickers." He later moved to Utah, maintaining a part-time law practice in [California](/places/california/).[^1]

Boyak maintained contacts and performed legal work for former colleagues from his Green Beret and [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) days, including [Art Suchesk](/people/art-suchesk/), who ran a [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) proprietary company called Hoffman Electronics.[^1]

### Involvement with Robert Booth Nichols

Boyak became involved with [Robert Booth Nichols](/people/robert-booth-nichols/) when one of his clients, [Cap Kressop](/people/cap-kressop/), a technical wizard, was approached by Nichols to manufacture a prototype laser site for a rifle. Kressop became suspicious when Nichols offered to pay him $200,000 in cash. Boyak contacted Nichols at his Marina Del Rey home/office, and their meeting was continuously interrupted by telephone calls and telex messages. Boyak became convinced that Nichols was involved in large-scale illegal drug operations.[^1]

After consulting with [Dexter Leitenen](/people/dexter-leitenen/), then an assistant U.S. Attorney, Boyak went to the Los Angeles [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) office with his suspicions about Nichols' activities. However, an [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) background check on Nichols, reportedly conducted by [Ted Gunderson](/people/ted-gunderson/), found him "squeaky clean." Boyak later discovered that [Harold Okimoto](/people/harold-okimoto/), whom Nichols referenced as a business associate and personal friend, was believed by some of Boyak's sources to be a top Japanese organized crime figure based in Hawaii and a top agent in the [Yakuza](/organizations/yakuza/) overseas.[^1]

Over the next two years, after the Los Angeles [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) dropped its interest in Nichols, Boyak's friend [Art Suchesk](/people/art-suchesk/) repeatedly encountered Nichols in places like [Singapore](/places/singapore/), the [Philippines](/places/philippines/), and [Taiwan](/places/taiwan/). Boyak stated that information developed during this period indicated that Nichols was indeed a "bigtime drug dealer" who operated exclusively overseas and was well-insulated from U.S. law enforcement problems. Boyak described Nichols' rum importing business as a cover for large-scale heroin trafficking from the [Golden Triangle](/places/golden-triangle/). Nichols was also named as "Mr. Big" in the [Medellin Cartel](/organizations/medellin-cartel/) in drug prosecutions in Utah and [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/).[^1]

### Connection to Michael Riconosciuto

Boyak received a telephone call from [Michael Riconosciuto](/people/michael-riconosciuto/) who identified himself as a former employee of [Robert Booth Nichols](/people/robert-booth-nichols/) and referenced [Ted Gunderson](/people/ted-gunderson/) as a "mutual friend." In April 1991, Boyak received another call from Gunderson, informing him that [Michael Riconosciuto](/people/michael-riconosciuto/) was "in trouble" and "caught in a government frame-up."[^1]

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.