Frank R. Wallace (1932 – January 26, 2006), born Wallace Ward, was an American author, publisher and mail-order magnate. Previously a professional poker player, he is originator of the philosophy of Neo-Tech (also referred to as "Neotech" or "Neothink") an offshoot of Ayn Rand's

Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievemen ...

. He was convicted of various federal tax crimes in the 1990s. During his trials, he challenged the oath he was required to take before testifying which became the case ''United States v. Ward'' in which the Appeals Court upheld his right to recite an alternate oath.

Education and career

Wallace Ward graduated from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

in 1954. In 1957 he earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in Inorganic and

Analytical Chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

from the

State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

. He then worked for nine years as a research chemist for DuPont. He then turned to philosophy and started I & O Publishing in 1968 and served as president, publisher, and editor, writing books and articles under various pen names. One of his books was about how to win at poker.

Publishing company

Wallace owned the Integrated Management Associates publishing company, a spin-off of I & O that publishes books and articles by various writers (including himself) concerning Neo-Tech. Australian Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech criticized Neo-Tech as a group of "con-artists", for claiming to select "a small handful of 'special' individuals" to receive "secret wisdom of ages", and then asking the individuals to pay money to obtain these "secrets". The company was the subject of a 2000 ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority of the UK, in which the Authority claimed Neo-Tech had "not provided evidence, other than anecdotal, to show the guaranteed earnings, improvements to health, and other benefits ... had been, or could be, attained".

Neo-Tech philosophy

Wallace's Neo-Tech philosophy is presented as an offshoot of Objectivist philosophy. Comic book author Alan Grant wrote a four-part ''Anarky'' miniseries in 1997, and an eight-part ongoing series in 1999, for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

based on Wallace's Neo-Tech philosophy. Grant said, "I felt he narkywas the perfect character o express the Neo-Tech philosophybecause he's human, he has no special powers, the only power he's got is the power of his own rational consciousness." Illustrator and ''Anarky'' co-creator Norm Breyfogle viewed Neo-Tech as a "modernized" interpretation of Objectivism.

Tax evasion and the "fully integrated Honesty" oath

On March 29, 1990, Wallace was indicted on three counts of tax evasion and three counts of willful failure to timely file Federal income tax returns or pay taxes. At his trial, Wallace proposed an alternative oath written by him, to be used before testifying, using the phrase "fully integrated Honesty." The court denied his request, insisting on a "standard oath." The court would not allow Wallace to testify in his defense unless he took the standard oath. Wallace made an opening statement at the trial in February 1991, and cross-examined government witnesses. He also wanted to testify in his own defense, and offered to take both his own oath and the oath prescribed by the U.S. District Court. The District Court refused to allow him to testify unless he used only the oath prescribed by the Court, which he declined to do. He was convicted on all charges. He appealed, in part on the ground that the District Court had violated his freedom of religion, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed his conviction. The Court of Appeals held that by refusing to allow him to testify unless he used only the oath prescribed by the District Court, the District Court had violated Ward's First Amendment right to freedom of religion. Wallace used his own wording for the oath in a re-trial. In the re-trial in 1993, a jury found him guilty of tax evasion for years 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Death

On January 26, 2006 while Wallace was jogging in Henderson, Nevada, he was struck and killed by a motorist. He was 73 years old.''Henderson man accident victim''
Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 28, 2006.

References

External links

Wikipedia vs Neo-Tech

www.neo-Tech.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Frank R. 20th-century American philosophers American people convicted of tax crimes 1932 births 2006 deaths University of Iowa alumni Road incident deaths in Nevada Pedestrian road incident deaths Colby College alumni Place of birth missing