MOSAIC - In Memoriam

SIMON MANN

MOSAIC CHIEF PMC ADVISOR

June 26, 1952 – May 8, 2025

Simon Mann was a British former Special Air Service officer, security contractor, and businessman whose life encompassed elite military service, private security operations in Africa, and considerable controversy. Born Simon Francis Mann on 26 June 1952, he was educated at Eton College and later trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He served with the Scots Guards and subsequently the Special Air Service (SAS), including service connected with Northern Ireland and the Gulf region. After leaving the British Army, Mann became prominent in the private military and security world of the 1990s. He was associated with Executive Outcomes and co-founded Sandline International, which became involved in security and military operations in countries including Angola, Sierra Leone, and Papua New Guinea. Mann became internationally known following his 2004 arrest in Zimbabwe with a group of men accused of participating in a planned coup against the government of Equatorial Guinea. After imprisonment in Zimbabwe, he was extradited to Equatorial Guinea, where he was convicted and sentenced to more than 34 years in prison. He received a presidential pardon in 2009. In later years, Mann wrote and spoke publicly about his experiences in the military, private security, and Africa. His 2011 memoir, Cry Havoc, recounted his career and the Equatorial Guinea affair. Mann died on 8 May 2025, aged 72. His career remains closely associated with the emergence of the modern private military and security industry and with some of the most controversial security operations in post-Cold War Africa.

PAUL MICHAEL PERCOCO

MOSAIC OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

December 14, 1961 – August 19, 2026

Paul Michael Percoco was an intelligence and security leader with 32 years of experience in law enforcement and government. For nearly a decade, he served as Mosaic’s Operations Director, bringing his extensive background in intelligence, counterterrorism, and security operations to the organization. Earlier in his career, he commanded the New York City Police Department’s first Terrorist Interdiction Unit, collaborating with the CIA, FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and Department of Homeland Security to enhance counterterrorism operations and intelligence gathering. In the United Arab Emirates, Percoco managed intelligence collection programs and directed a security training academy, liaising with local law enforcement and intelligence agencies. His work included uncovering a major plot against New York City’s transit system, and his methodologies became a model for domestic intelligence operations. Percoco died on 19 August 2026 at the age of 64. He was a longtime resident of Staten Island, New York.