CLOSING SUMMARIES START IN SPY CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100520009-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 19, 2011
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: July 9, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/19 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100520009-8
ART1C1~ NE!,I YORK TIMES
~ P~~1~--- 9 J u 1y 1986
~
CLOSIN6SU
SfARFIA
~~ ? ardY M 71~ rM YAt 71~
"-I SAN FRANCISCO, July t - Closins
`~t1'guments began today in the espio-
. ~Vhitwortb, wl~ tprosectttorse~tivg~.
'filing to ovse+eorns prvMems created by
the weeding d tea Govsrnmenu's 13-
2btmt mdictatent:
! Afters 11~ desks d evidence from
more thaw 130 witrkres, the pt'mciped
isans for the is whether Nr. Whiw
-arorth paw mad Navy crYPto-
,~grapbic data and menages with "m-
~~t and reason to believe" they would
used to the advantage d the Soviet
'~nioa, as the indictment states.
which Mr. WHitwis ch~ar~ ! ~ ~
R iusgal to par military data w any
lorei~ oouatry with the intent chat.. is
~~~ ~ ~ advantage of that cotta
jury d the United States.
;pttt the Government's i:dictment
;~pedflcally n~ayme~s~the Stwlst Uniu~n~~38
y as the "".."7 it soya Mr. ~ Wt*
;r. interrdsd to aid.
.~ Defenr attorneys ors expected to
argot that pe+ascutors have not prm-ed
? Mr. Whitworth knew the data he L ar
clued of stealing from the Navy were
~ sold to Soviet agent. The corner-
s the defense case hes been that
;,~dr. Whitworth believed the materials
;Smwei~destined for an ally of the United
b Yeses d Navy Servloe
Mr. Whitworth. who retired trvm the
Navy !n 1983 as a chief petty officer
after ZO years of service, was arrested
in June 1986 and accused of stealing
'~lassiried data and selling it to Joha A.
~ Sovletr' who bas messed heading
PY ~$. P~:uWrs
'L~a~vy-~radiornaa wwimth a~toP-aecret se-
?t~e data ~ Mrs ~aj~. x?000 for
The eight catmts d espionage and
rive of tas traps carry a maslmum sen-
. tenrx dseven life taemt putt 37 years
and a total d t630,000.in ibnt.
Federal I)Ltr'let Jtrdp Jatm P.
ukasm Jr. lnbrmed atWtaeys ao
u~?e 2S that he would mra?cc the jury
t, to haw Mr. Whitworth fount
guilty d espionage. the Government
'ttrust prove that Mr. Whitworth slots
the Navy data and passed it to Mr.
~-a11re:' wtt6 the ktwwiedga that it war
destined specifically for the Soviet
~>~nion.
Prosecutors won a delay in the pro.
ceedings to appeal Judge Vtrkasm's
ruling, but last week the United States
Court of Appeals for the North Circuit
declined to order the jury instruction
changed.
a~.e..swr~ cso.e.s
~~ ~~ IKt~'Yiailt~gieaiM S~tY to a~
~ fa BaltimoN last ot.
_ _ ~ s~:.bia son. ilLichasl_L
,~~ a^utev'? La became the key
'frRatte agaie~ M'r. Whitworth. 11tr.
+Nalker a retitad Navy warrant otd-
$t+er, is iarpected oo be sentenced to life
prism in AuRnst. Hb plea bargain in`
~udad a lesser sentence for his son, Mi-
Wallrer, who could have faced life
~ triton. The son, who was a yoeman
,board the air~aft carrier Nmtitz at
time o:his arrest m May 1>f96. is ex-
lo recdve a sentence d xl years
1' 1~ er's older brother, Arthur
~. Walker, was convicted of espionage
`fit Nor[olk, Va., last August for his role
,;~iar the spy rtng and has bees sentenced
.;?Oo life in prison. _
Walker's Testlatsag Credal
John Walker's testimony wu crucial
to the Government's case against Mr.
Whitworth because Mr. wallterwas the
only member of the spy ring to sell se-
crets to Soviet agents. The prosecutors
oharge that the primary motives of
a~teanbers d the spy ring was marrey.
~'' Mr. Walker testified about recruiting
s*r~~tworth and about numerous
"it m which Mr. Walker said Mr.
Whitworth passed classiried data in ex-
change for money over a 10-year peri-
od. But Mr. Walker also said he never
directly told Mr. Whitworth the stolen
,data were being bought by the Soviet
Union.
? He testified that "common sense"
had told him Mr. Whitworth knew
where the data were destined because
no ally of the United States woWd have
-use for Navy cryptographic materials
designed to keep the military's most
closely guarded secrets from hostile
foreign governments.
Letters Play Key Role
~- The burden of proving Mr. Whit-
worth knew the stolen data were being
passed to the Soviet Union gr~tly in-
creases the role played in the prosecu-
tion's case by a series of tour anorty-
mous letters. i
. The letters, which were received by ,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation in i
San Francisco in 1984, describe a to- ~,
morsetul spy seeking to expose an es-
,'pionage conspiracy in exchange for
~~ freedom from prosecution. The letters
are signed "RUS. Somewhere. U.S.A."
~~ ,The letter, make it clear that the
writer knew he was involved in espio?
~ naggs and knew, after a few years, that
ailitary data were being passed to the
'Soviet Union. The writer of the letters
~,ehanged his mind about going to the
~Governmerrt with hb information.
Judge Vukasin allowed the prosecu-
tors to present the letters as evidence
. ,and argue that the "parallel cluracter-
,,: istics" between the facts of the espio-
,page conspiracy charged in the case
,;qpd the one described in the letters
-~ proved that Mr. Whitworth wrote
ahem.
members d the 1~Y Utac if they
~ 94o na tins l~tr. wl,icworcn Nilcy d a.
~ 1 ~~oft~ ~ nd him Su11tY of a
clanitled
b RtWtary data to an unau rued per
~~ sentence oft 10~ carries a ma~dmum
oouat. ,~ mst~ ate ~ for each
expected to start Friday after three
Jaya of cbsm6 arguments.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/19 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100520009-8
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