BILOXI, Miss., July 28 (UPI) -- Fred LaRue, a Richard Nixon White House aide and key player in the Watergate scandal, was found dead in his room at a Biloxi, Miss., motel, it was reported Wednesday.
LaRue was 75, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported Wednesday.
He was found dead, reportedly of natural causes, in his room at the Sun Tan Motel Tuesday morning, officials said.
LaRue returned to Mississippi to tend his family's real estate and oil interests after serving more than four years for his role in the Watergate scandal.
Known as the "bagman," he was arguably Nixon's most vital defender. Watching the PBS documentary looking back at Watergate last summer, LaRue called Magruder a "congenital liar" and insisted Nixon had no knowledge of the plans.
LaRue was occasionally identified as "Deep Throat," the shadowy character believed to have helped two Washington Post reporters crack a bevy of Nixon-era secrets, including the Watergate break-in. But he denied he or any one individual could have been such a figure.
