Oliver North shredding government documents related to these activities at William Casey's suggestion when the Iran-Contra scandal became public. He also testified that Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the Contras and that he had helped. North was tried in 1988. He was indicted on 16 felony counts, and on May 4, 1989, he was initially convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and ordering the destruction of documents through his secretary, Fawn Hall. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard
Oliver North a close friend of the deceased father of Tracey Needham's character Meg Austin. In addition, he regularly speaks at both public and private events. North appears in an episode of "Auction Kings" to have his Marine Corps sword returned after it was lost and presumably stolen in 1980. North was credited as a military consultant in the 2012 video game "" and voiced himself in one level of the game. In Season 4, Episode 15 "Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold" of the TV series "American Dad!" Stan Smith searches under his house for Oliver North's hidden gold.