Former top CIA spy dead at 86 from fall

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) - Richard F. "Dick" Stolz, who joined the CIA in 1950 and became one of the agency's most respected operatives, has died. He was 86.
His death Saturday was reported by The Washington Post and confirmed Wednesday by Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.
Stolz had a 31-year career at the agency when he was called out of retirement in 1987 in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal.
Then-CIA Director William H. Webster credits Stolz with helping restore confidence and credibility in the agency.
Before his 1981 retirement, Stolz became one of the agency's most respected covert officers. He served in Cold War hot spots around Eastern Europe before he became the chief of Soviet operations in the mid-1970s.
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