NUMBER OF SPY CASES INCREASING

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
June 21, 2010
Sequence Number: 
5
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 3, 1985
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4.pdf176.63 KB
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STAT STAT STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/21: CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4 ARTICLE. WASHINGTON POST ON PA 3 June 1985 Number of Spy Cases Increasing Money, Availability of Classified Information Called Factors By Ruth Marcus Washington Poet Staff Writer Three Navy men accused of spy- ing for the Soviet Union represent 'the latest in an accelerating number of espionage cases that have snared Americans ranging from an FBI agent allegedly lured by money and sex to. a California aerospace engi-, neer who tried to sell Stealth bomb- er secrets to the Soviets. In addition to retired Navy chief warrant officer John A. Walker Jr.; ? his brother, Arthur Walker, a re- tired Navy lieutenant commander; 'and his son Michael Walker, a sea- 'man on the . USS Nimitz, at least eight persons currently,. face charges of spying for the Soviet Union or Soviet bloc countries. While there were no federal pros- ecutions for espionage between 1966 and 1975, there have been 37 cases since then, of which 27 involved the. Soviet Union or its allies, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Trott said yesterday on the CBS television pro- gram "Face the Nation." "Last year was our most produc- tive year in terms of catching espi- onage activities," Trott said. "I be- lieve, and the people with whom I've consulted believe, that there both is more espionage going on now, num- ber one, and number two, we've got- ten a lot better in detecting it." Although Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. is considering having John and Arthur. Walker, both of the Norfolk area, recalled to active ser- vice and court-martialed rather than tried in a civilian court, "the case is going to be tried in federal court; not in military court," Trott said. [Sailors in Norfolk react to Walker case. Page B1.1 "We believe we can do that with- STAT out compromising any of the se will not "get off light.- Law enforcement officials say they are convinced that the com- mon denominator between the 'Walkers and others accused of es- pionage in recent years is the desire for financial gain. they are convicted or plead guilty, . he said, vowing that the Walkers, It says in the KGB manual, 'Americans can be bought,' " Bill :'Baker, assistant director of the FBI, said in an interview last week. "It's a way to make money," Trott said, That motivation differentiates modern-day spies from their coun- terparts in previous years, when ideological solidarity with the So- viet Union was a driving force for many accused of espionage. "Most of the cases in the thirties and forties, t ose who spie or for- ei n powers did it for ideological reasons," former deputy irec- _tor Bobby Kay Inman said on "Face the Nation" yesterday. "I don't know of a single case in the last 15 years where ideology had a role at afi. People are se mg secrets for cash." =0w, however, "spies come in all different sizes, shapes, colors, back- grounds, _ philosophies and anybody who -has access to this type of in- formation, who has some sort of a strange personal situation going on, or a shaky financial situation going on, is liable to be this type of per- son," Trott said. Among the reasons for the surge in espionage cases, government of- ficials and other observers say, are the increase in the number of So- viets assigned to the United States, stepped-up enforcement and the growth in both the number of Americans cleared to see classified information and the amount of in- formation deemed sensitive. As restrictions eased during the era of detente, the number of So- viet nationals living legally in the United States has doubled during the last decade, according .to orgetown University professor Roy Godson. an expert on intelli- Once matters. Of those, a conser- vative estimate would be that 30 to 40 percent are working as intelli- gence officers, he said. "We are faced with a huge counterintelli- gence problem," Godson said. Another unknown number of So- viet agents are in the country illegal- ly, passing themselves off as Amer- icans and, in addition to.regular es- pionage activities, attempting to take such so-called "active measures" as influencing the media and govern- mental decisions, Godson said. ' He cited the case of Col. Rudolph Albert Herrmann a K aGI ent ex- se to FBI. Owospent 11- years collecting political intel i- ence and arranging secret ex- changes of information with other vet Soviet intelligence operatives while m as a free-lance photo pher living in the a New York City suburbs. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking minority member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has introduced a measure. to limit the S6? viet Union to the same number of in- dividuals with dpi loomatic immtm ere~i as the United States has in Moscow. "I see no reason at all why we should allow them to have t ese are numbers of people . " " Leahy said. "We seem to bend over backward to do their job for them Leahy also called for a reappraisal of the um number o people with access to defense secrets. "We have 4 mil- lion people in this count with se- curity clearances," he said. "That's crazy ... People apply for security clearances, and 99 percent of them get it. can't believe that that's showing enough care." Another reason for the Soviets' apparent improved success in .re cruiting. spies,- observers said, is a perceived decline in feelings of pa- triotism. "You've got the 'Me Generation' runnin rampant," sai former CIA official eor a A. Carver r: "You've got the offspring of a en- atiowhich is ideolog- ical motivate , which fs ex raor- marf self-oriented ... Which thinks, the Soviets can su their material needs, patriotism, t t means nothing." Continued Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/21 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/21: CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4 One aspect of the Walker case that has officials particularly worried is that, although John Walker had al- legedly been spying for the Soviets since 1968, the FBI was tipped off to the case only after a "walk-in" con- fidential source contacted them.., That differentiates the Walker case from most other recent charges of espionage..FBI officials were prompted to investigate. Rich- ard W. Miller. the first bureau member ever charged with espio- nage, after it started surveillance of Svetlana Ogorodnikova, a Soviet emigrant housewife, whose con- tacts with the Soviet consulate be- came frequent. Agents watching Ogorodnikova discovered that Mill-. er had developed a personal rela- tionship with the woman, who was working for the KGB, according to FBI officials. The case against former Army counterintelligence specialist is - ard Craig Smith, awaiting trial on charges of selling the Soviet coon information a ut erican o- bTe agents, started when surveillance showed him in front of a ovieet comun in Tokyo o. aeros ace engineer Thomas Patrick Cavanagh, sentenced last month to life in prison for trying to sell `tealth bomber secrets to the, Soviet Union, was snared when So- viet agents to whom he i)la3n-ed to _ sell information stolen from Nor- throp Corp. turnout to be FBI undercover agents. "Some of tFie Mures ... to find out when this kind of stuff is going on is nothing more than a byproduct of the liberty that we enjoy in this country ... ," Trott said. "One of the prices that you pay is that occa- sionally',' somebody "will take advan- tage of it and become a spy." Staff correspondents Laura LaFay and Sara Isaac contributed to this report. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/21 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000202190005-4