High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) served as White House Counsel to United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. In this position, he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up. He was referred to as "master manipulator of the cover up" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He pleaded guilty to a single felony count in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution. This ultimately resulted in a reduced prison sentence, which was served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland.