SPYING FOR PROFIT: A DISTURBING TREND

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100120083-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 83
• Publication Date: June 6, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/22 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100120083-0
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he case of alleged Soviet spy John Anthony
Walker Jr., together with his son and brother,
is sure to set off some intense internal
security investigations at Navy bases, on ships at
sea and in defense plants.
If the Walkers are. guilty, it will confirm a trend
we reported on recently: a disturbing number of
presumably loyal Americans are willing to sell oui
their country for a few rubles or whatever.
A recently completed Defense Intelligence
Agency study illuminates this trend with thumbnail
profiles of 18 Americans accused or convicted of
espionage within the last 10 years.
The study, reviewed by our associate Tony
Capaccio, makes it depressingly clear that there's
no fail-safe security method against greed. Future
traitors will probably continue to deal with the
Soviets as long as the Kremlin pays well for the
classified information.
Here are some of the accused Americans -whose
lust for the "good life" lured them into espionage, as
profiled by the DIA:
^ Perhaps the case that most resembles the
Walkers' is that of David Henry Barnett, a Central
Intelligence Agency employe from 1958 to 1970. In
1976, he began selling the Russians names of C1A
agents and other highly sensitive information; in
1979 he rejoined the CIA as a Soviet mole. He was
uncovered the following year and was later
convicted of espionage.
Barnett had been paid a grand total of $25,000.
"This case," the DIA study observes, "demonstrates
that serious financial problems can.cause an
individual to take extreme measures with
apparently little or no forethought as to the
consequences of the action to national security."
^ Lee Eugene Madsen, 24, a Navy yeoman
assigned to the Defense Department's Strategic
Warning Staff, was caught before he could do any
harm. The Federal Bureau of Investigation learned
that he had offered to sell information on drug
traffic to an acquaintance, and the G-men nailed
him when he showed up for the rendezvous.
They were astounded. "Unable to locate the
documents on drug trafficking," the study said,
Madsen "carried out from his work site seven
top-secret documents dealing with inte]ligence
assessments of the Near East and South Asia and
interpretations of secret photographs."
Madsen pleaded guilty to espionage and drew
eight years in prison. Why had he betrayed his
country? "His roommate stated that (Madsen)
needed money and intended to sell the documents
to buy a new automobile," the DIA report said.
^ Christopher M. Cooke was an Air Force
shavetail who was deputy commander of a nuclear
missile crew in Kansas. He was observed making
several visits to the Soviet Embassy in Washington,
where he allegedly turned over classified nuclear
information. Cooke gave a full confession in return
for immunity, so he was never prosecuted.
"The extent of his activities and his true motives
will probably never be known," the DIA said.
"However, the Air Force was sufficiently concerned
that they changed the codes for sending launch
messages and they retargeted some of the
missiles."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/22 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100120083-0