Personal Papers, 1959-1996

Series IV consists of materials dating mainly from after Mr. Agnew's resignation from the office of Vice President of the United States on October 10, 1973, as well as items of a personal nature unrelated to his elected offices. Very few documents represent the first forty years of his life. Shortly after his resignation, Agnew incorporated a company he named Pathlite, together with his personal secretary, Mary Ellen Warner. Using his international connections and the cachet that came with his previous high office, the former vice president became an intermediary for foreign investors to do business with American companies and finance domestic enterprises. Particular countries of interest for Pathlite were Saudi Arabia and imperial Iran. Along with Ms. Warner and her father, Walter E. Warner, Agnew also incorporated STACOM, which built and operated an office building on Ritchie Highway in Arnold, Md. He also took control of Education for Democracy, a dormant Indiana-based think tank. Agnew used the latter as a platform to return to the public arena, champion his conservative views, and attack perceived media bias, but he came under scrutiny for his anti-Israeli statements, and for allegedly abusing the nonprofit's tax-exempt status. In 1977, Agnew moved to Rancho Mirage, California, and Walter Warner assumed the daily operations of the former vice president's various enterprises, eventually running them out of his Arnold home.