Martin Decker

Martin M. Decker (1916–1996) was president of the Decker Corporation Research Laboratories. In 1963 he bought the historic Roberts estate in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania [S1]. He held electrostatic patents of his own [S2], and Thomas Townsend Brown worked at his Bala Cynwyd compound twice, around 1962–64 and again in 1966. In Paul Schatzkin's account, Brown sued Decker for fraud in between, and the Nassau Group placed its own men inside Decker's company before ending the arrangement in autumn 1966 [S3]. No court record of the suit has been found. Decker was forced into bankruptcy in 1971 after the Bala Cynwyd property was foreclosed [S4].

Sources

[S1] "Rich Men and the Castles" — Lower Merion Historical Society URL: https://collections.lowermerionhistory.org/home/full-text/rich-men-and-the-castles Accessed: 2026-09-27 Claim: Sold the Roberts estate in 1963 to "Martin Decker, then president of the Decker Corporation Research Laboratories" [S2] "US2949550A" — Google Patents (related-patent table) URL: https://patents.google.com/patent/US2949550A/en Accessed: 2026-09-27 Claim: US 3,296,491 assigned to Martin M Decker (filed 1961, issued 1967) [S3] "Defying Gravity, Ch. 65" — Paul Schatzkin (Wayback 10 Oct 2007) URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20071010061036/http://ttbrown.com/defying_gravity/65_SweetiePeach.html Accessed: 2026-09-27 Claim: Puscheck and Spirito as "our men at Decker's"; see also Ch. 36 on the fraud suit [S4] In re Martin M. Decker and Kathleen H. Decker, 465 F.2d 294 (3d Cir. 1972) URL: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/305112/in-the-matter-of-martin-m-decker-and-kathleen-h-decker/ Accessed: 2026-09-27 Claim: Involuntary bankruptcy petition filed 12 Feb 1971