2 RUSSIANS PLEAD GUILTY IN SPY CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404690001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 27, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/09 :CIA-RDP90-005528000404690001-9
a~- _
2 RussiansPlead
Guilty in Spy Case
Wife Faces 18-Year Term, Husbaml
8 Years in Plot to Recruit FBI Agent
By WILLIAM OVEREND, Times Staff Writer
Accused Soviet spies SvetYtta
and Nikolai Ogorodnikov pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to commit
espionage Wednesday in Los M-
geles federal court in a plea-bar-
gain arrangement negotiated in the
last two days with federal praeecu-
tors.
Under the agreement, approved
by U.S. District Judge David V.
Kenyon, Ogorodnikov was imme-
diately sentenced to eight years in
prison. His wife ie to be sentenced
July 15to an 18-Year prison term.
The guilty pleas came two
months after the beginning of the
Ogorodnikov spy trial, in which the
two Russian emigres were accused
of working as utility agents for the
Soviet KGB in a plot to recruit
former FBI agent Richard W. Mil-
ler as aSoviet spy.
Defense lawyers, citing a gag
order issued by the judge barring
any comment on the case, refused
to discuss the change of heazt by
their clients, who had steadfastly
maintained their innocence since
their arrests OCt. 2.
Faces Llte Terms
The Ogorodnikovs, if convicted
of the chazges they faced, could
have been sentenced to life in
prison. As part of the plea bazgain,
bribery charges against both were
~PP~?
In the sudden and dramatic con-
clusion of the trial, Ogorodnikova
wept and her husband delivered an
angry hourlong tirade against the
U.S. government and the FBI be-
fore his sentencing.
Referring to Ogorodnikova's
sexual relationship with Miller,
who will face his own espionage
trial later this summer. Ogorodni-
kov exploded image:
`"They raped mY wife. They took
my wife and turned her into a
prostitute. I ~ said everytfiing tp
help her. She is the reason I afi
here."
The Ogorodnikova, who immi-
grated to the United States fmtn
the Soviet Union in 1973 and lived
in Hollywood, were arrested with
Miller on Oct. 2 after a massive
monthlong FBI counterintelligence
operation code-named Whipworm.
Miller, who had been the gov-
ernment's main witness against
them during the last two weeks of
the trial, met Ogorodnikova on May
24,1984, and testified that he began
a sexual relationship with her a few
days later.
Secret Doeumenb
The government claims that the
former counterintelligence agent
passed secret FBI documents to the
Ogorodnikovs later in the relation-
ship in exchange for Ogorodniko-
va'e sexual favors and the promise
of 165,000 in gold and cash.
Miller's lawyers, Stanley Green-
berg and Jcel Levine, declined
comment Wednesday on the effect
of the guilty pleas on their client's
case, saying only that they look
forward to Miller's trial being
moved up from its present sched-
uled start Aug. 6. Miller was not in
the courtroom Wednesday.
A fourth alleged conspirator in
the scheme to obtain FBI docu-
ments is Alexandr Grishin, a vice
consul of the Soviet Consulate in
return.
While plea-bargain talks had
begun earlier ir. the trig! of, the
Ogorodnikovs, the first indication
that they had reached a critical
point came Tuesday, as Miller was
preparing to take the stand for
another day of testimony.
Announcing that the lawyers
needed to resolve something of
importance that "only recently de-
veloped," Kenyon sent jurors home
for the day and later met for more
than an hour in his chambers with
government and defense lawyers.
At the end of Tuesday's secret
Session, Ogorodnikova emerged in
tears and exchanged angry words
with her husband. The Times sub-
sequently learned that Ogorodni-
kova had agreed to aplea-bargain
arrangement but that her husband
had objected to it.
Insbtei oa 1Bot6
The government's? position,
sources said, was that it would not
accept a plea bargain from just one
of the defendants.
In court Wednesday morning,
Ogorodnikov still showed signs of
resisting the agreement worked
out by his attorney, federal public
defender Randy Sue Pollock, and
defense lawyers for Ogorodnikova.
A 10 a.m. hearing was delayed
for two hours as Pollock consulted
with Brad Brian and Gregory
Stone, the two defense lawyers
representing Ogorodnikova, as well
as government prosecutors Bruce
G. Merritt and Richazd B. Kendall.
By noon, however, final az-
rangements were complete. After
27 days of testimony in the spy
case, Kendall stood to inform Ken-
yon officially that the plea-bazgain
talks had successfully concluded.
"The parties have agreed on a
disposition of the case," Kendall
said. "It will be by guilty pleas by
both defendants. It is the govern-
ment's view that justice will be
done."
Announcing his acceptance of
the sentencing arran
eme
t
K
g
n
,
en-
San Francisco, who was not prose- yon said it appeared that both sides
cuted because of diplomatic immu- had given "considerable thought to
mty the matter and feel it is in the
The Times learned that Grishin, interests of the public and of jus-
who had remained at the San lice."
Francisco consulate since the Oc- At Kendall's request, the judge
toter arrests, left the United States then began questioning Ogorodni-
Sunday to begin what was de- kov to make sure that he under-
scribed as a vacation in Moscow. stood his
Offs~als in Washington said they qty plea and to deter-
do not know whether he `will rrune that, in fact, the 52-year-old
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/09 :CIA-RDP90-005528000404690001-9