John DeCamp

John W. DeCamp (July 6, 1941 - July 27, 2017) was a Nebraska state senator, U.S. Army officer, and attorney whose career encompassed four terms in the Nebraska Legislature, service as a legal aide to William Colby in Vietnam, and more than four decades of private practice. He is primarily known for his 1992 book "The Franklin Cover-Up," which argued that Lawrence King Jr. had operated a child prostitution network extending from Omaha to Washington D.C. and that investigations into the allegations had been suppressed.¹

Education and Early Career

DeCamp was born in Neligh, Nebraska. He received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, political science, and military science from the University of Nebraska in 1965 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska in 1967. He entered U.S. Army service and served as a captain in Vietnam.¹

Vietnam and William Colby

DeCamp served in Vietnam during the period when William Colby was Deputy Ambassador. He was assigned as an aide to Colby and accompanied him in the aftermath of the fall of Saigon. In April-May 1975, DeCamp participated in Operation Baby Lift, the emergency evacuation of approximately 2,800 Vietnamese orphans to the United States and other countries in the final days of the war. His Vietnam-era service established a personal relationship with Colby that he described as central to his later career and worldview.¹

Nebraska Legislative Career

DeCamp was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1971 while still serving in Vietnam. He served four terms (1971-1987) representing a district in northeastern Nebraska. His legislative career overlapped with the emergence of the Franklin Credit Union under King's management.¹

"The Franklin Cover-Up" (1992)

DeCamp published "The Franklin Cover-Up" through AWT Inc. in 1992, a year after King's federal conviction on embezzlement charges. A second edition appeared in 1996. The book argues that two grand juries' "carefully crafted hoax" findings were themselves the product of a cover-up, that genuine abuse had occurred, and that a network reaching to Washington D.C. had been protected. DeCamp represented both Paul Bonacci and Alisha Owen as their attorney, creating a conflict of interest that is relevant to evaluating his presentation of the evidence.²

The book's factual core - King's embezzlement, the NCUA seizure, the state legislative investigation, and the grand jury proceedings - is grounded in documented primary sources. DeCamp's claims about a Washington D.C. network rely primarily on victim testimony, chiefly Bonacci's, and his own assertions. He names Craig Spence as a Washington nexus figure; Spence's existence, White House access, and escort service connections are independently documented in contemporaneous Washington Times and Washington Post reporting from June-November 1989, independent of DeCamp's work.²

In the second edition (1996), DeCamp drew connections between the Franklin case and The Finders, the Washington D.C. group whose CIA connections were documented in a 1987 U.S. Customs Service investigation. No documentary primary source establishes an operational link between the two cases. Nick Bryant's 2009 book "The Franklin Scandal" (Trine Day) opens with a prologue titled "The Finders of Lost Children" and similarly presents The Finders and Franklin as parallel structures, but also without a documented operational link in government records.³

William Colby's Death

Colby died on April 27, 1996, when his canoe was found overturned on the Wicomico River in Maryland; his body was found nine days later. The death was ruled an accidental drowning. DeCamp publicly questioned the official ruling, citing the timing relative to planned revelations about the Franklin case and other matters. His skepticism about Colby's death was not supported by any physical evidence or official finding distinguishing it from an accident. DeCamp dedicated the second edition of his book to Colby.²

Later Career

DeCamp continued private legal practice in Norfolk, Nebraska. He remained a public figure in circles focused on the Franklin case and related allegations. He died on July 27, 2017, in Norfolk, Nebraska, at age 76. His death was not widely covered in mainstream press.¹