SpyTalk

The accused is Steven Fleischmann, who described himself on his company Web site as "a former U.S. diplomat and operations strategist." In reality, according to a source close to the firm, he worked for the State Department's office of Intelligence and Research on nuclear nonproliferation issues.

His accusers include TDI managing partner William Green III, "a former U.S. diplomat specializing in multilateral affairs within the United Nations, NATO and the European Union frameworks," according to the company Web site.

But in reality, according to two sources who know - and admire -- him, Green was a career CIA case officer, or spy handler, who was booted from France in 1995 after a blown operation to steal French commercial secrets.

A Cuban publication, El Economista, described Green as  "a celebrated agent ... who was the chief of [secret] agents in France and expelled in 1995 for extremely serious reasons that have never been revealed."

One of Green's specialties, according to knowledgeable sources, is covert information-perception operations.

The company managed the campaign of Ukraine to obtain membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, according to reports.

Ronald Slimp, "a former U.S. diplomat and trade negotiator" who went on to manage business intelligence for the failed mega-energy corporation Enron, is also a managing patrner.

Other TD International partners include Fred Enochs, a former "technical and operations" (i.e., bugging) specialist with the CIA, according to the company web site, and Ross Newland, a 27-year CIA veteran who was chief of the spy agency's Operational Technology Office.

The company, which offers a range of public relations and investigative services, including advising corporate clients on how to avoid prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, did not return a telephone call asking for comment.

TDI's attorney Sanford Saunders, a partner in the D.C. superlawyer firm Greenberg Traurig, also did not respond to a request for comment.

A voicemail greeting for Fleischmann's number said, "the person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time."

According to TD International's suit, first reported by Legal Times without mention of its CIA dimensions, Fleischmann set up a similar-sounding dummy company to divert consulting fees and expenses to himself.

That company also went by the initials TDI, which in Fleishmann's case stood for tertium datur - Latin for "third choice."

It's a play on the common Latin phrase tertium non datur, usually rendered as "no way out."

"TDI believes there is a third way, a middle path, a third option," Fleschmann wrote on the dummy company's Web site.

"The third way can be derived through knowledge. Knowledge, in turn, provides clarity, and clarity yields power. We shortened our philosophy to our name, 'tertium datur.' TD stands for tertium datur--there is a third choice."

The suit charges that Fleishmann diverted about $1.2 million in payments from The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as TAQA, which opened an office in Ann Arbor, MI.