PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Tuesday, December 9, 1997

Acclaimed Houston private eye is retiring

HOUSTON (AP) - Clyde Wilson is one private eye you didn't want to mess with if you weren't on the up-and-up yourself.

The grizzled 74-year-old is winding down a 30-plus-year career as Houston's most celebrated and colorful private investigator.

When allegations of theft and fraud surfaced at the Hermann Estate in the early 1980s, the charity's board turned to Wilson to ferret out the corruption.

It was a move many board members would soon regret.

Wilson's investigation not only uncovered evidence of theft and financial improprieties, he also traced the corruption all the way to the top.

And while board members maneuvered to rid themselves of him, Wilson was working hand-in-hand with law enforcement officials to put Hermann Estate administrators behind bars.

Wilson makes no apologies for his actions. He was hired to find the truth, he said, and that was exactly what he produced.

"If my client is dirty, I am not going to sweep it under the table," Wilson told the Houston Chronicle for Sunday's editions. "My job is to do an investigation and try to correct the wrongdoing."

Wilson is often described by friends as a man with simple manners, a quick wit and a deep intellect. When he puts those traits to work, he can be lethal.

"Clyde Wilson can sweet-talk a confession out of a person when no police officer ever could," said longtime friend David Berg.

Houston attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes was often on the opposite side of Wilson on criminal cases. And although Wilson's work harmed his clients, Haynes said he came to respect the private investigator.

One of Wilson's true gifts was his ability to track down down information and build a profile on the subject he was investigating, Haynes said. But with the advent of the computer age, a new breed of private investigator is taking the place of the old-time "gumshoes" like Wilson.

"There will never be another Clyde Wilson," Haynes said. "But with all the advances in technology, the gift he gave us may no longer be required."

Wilson opened his first office as a private investigator in Houston in 1957, and two years later became partners with Philip Bradley, another Houston private eye.

For the next decade, he built a reputation for exposing public corruption and uncovering corporate wrongdoing.

In 1962, Wilson was hired to investigate the activities of the police chief and his underlings in Lufkin. Working from a makeshift office in a funeral parlor and employing an overturned coffin as a desk, Wilson uncovered evidence that the chief was accepting payoffs.

Ultimately the chief, an assistant chief and a local judge were arrested.

A year later, he uncovered similar malfeasance in Polk County, which resulted in a grand jury indictment against the county judge and all four county commissioners.

Wilson had his own run-in with the law in 1973, when he was charged in federal court with wiretapping six Hunt Oil Co. employees while working undercover for Dallas oilmen Nelson and Herbert Hunt.

He pleaded no contest and was given a two-year suspended sentence. President Ford pardoned Wilson in 1977 as one of his final acts on his last day in office.

To this day, Wilson says he is innocent and was implicated by a former colleague trying to work a deal with authorities. He says his presidential pardon was granted because federal authorities later determined he was not involved.

In recent years, health problems have slowed Wilson. Last year he underwent surgery four times, twice on his colon. He also has an aneurysm on a major artery that doctors say could burst at any time. The troubles finally convinced Wilson that it was time to retire.

"At my age, I just don't want to be under any more stress," Wilson said.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: