SPIES SELLING NEW DATA - THEIR STORIES TO PUBLISHERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100370012-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: July 24, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100370012-1
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~~24 July 1986
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SAN FRANCISCO-It took 1? years for agents
of the FBI to catch Soviet spy John A. Walker Jr.
The literary agents needed far less time to get him.
Even while a federal court jury here ponders the
fate of the last member of Walker's spy ring to face
trial, at least five books and a CBS television movie
about Walker and his so-called First Family of
Espionage are in the works.
The first book will be in the shops shortly after a
verdict is reached in the current trial. Excerpts of
another already have appeared in Life and the New
York Times Magazine.
Walker, ~8, a retired Navy chief warrant officer
who pleaded guilty to espionage charges last
October, has sold exclusive rights to his story for an
undisclosed sum, according to lawyers and pub-
lishing industry sources. Walker's cooperation
came in a joint deal that also delivered book nghts
from his son, Michael, 22, and brother, Arthur, 51,
whom Walker recruited into his spy ring and who
also have been convicted of espionage.
H. W>bitwert6 )seok
The only non-family member of the ring, Jerry
A. Whitworth, !6, a former Navy buddy of Walker,
is on trial here now. His lawyer, James Larson, said
Whitworth has no plans for a book.
At Whitworth's trial, Walker's daughter, Marga-
ret, testified that her father told her he expected to
make more than it million in book royalties.
The specter of Walker profiting further from his
espionage has prompted two congressmen to
introduce legislation prohibiting convicted spies
from collecting royalties on books and movies
about their crimes. It is doubtful, however, that the
law could be applied retroactively to Walker.
An attorney familiar with John Walker's case
would not say how much money was involved in
the deal, except to say "the figures that have been
bandied about are pipe dreams."
Publishing sources and lawyers representing the
Walkers, said John, Arthur and Michael Walker,
are cooperating exclusively with Peter Early, a
Washington Post Magazine writer who is on a
year's leave to write his book, "The Keys to the
Kingdom." to be published by Bantam Books Inc.
Details of the arrangement remain confidential.
Early refused to comment, as did Stuart Apple-
baum, avice president of Bantam Books.
"The competition makes one wary about being
too forthcoming about the precise scope and nature
of the material Peter Early has .. I can tell you
that Peter Early's book is going to be drawn from
exclusive material," Applebaum said in a telephone
interview.
Early and another author, Howard Blum, also
are involved in the CBS movie deal, tentatively
entitled "The Walker Spy Case." Blum's book,
"Family Secrets: The Story of the Walker Spy
Case," is scheduled to come out in the fail and is
being published by Simon & Schuster Inc. Portions
already have been published in Life magazine and
the New York Times Magazine. Blum said he has
arrangements with some other Walker family
members who have not been charged criminally
and who are speaking to him exclusively. CBS
bought the film rights to the Walker family story
from Phoenix Entertainment Group of Los Angel-
es. Phoenix in turn bought film rights to the
yet-to-be-completed Walker books by Blum and
Early.
Network Payments
Jerry Eisenberg of Phoenix Entertainment said
the authors and their agents made the arrange-
ments with the various Walkers. Eisenberg said his
company had "no direct talks" with any of the
family members.
A CBS source involved in film production said
the network paid no money directly to Walker.
The source noted that [he Walker story was
"aggressively agented," and that agreements with
family members were reached "long before"
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100370012-1
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100370012-1
s
Phoenix presented the package to
CBS.
"It is a delivered deal. The
project would not be a project
without it (the arrangements with
family membersJ," the CBS source
said.
Other Walker family members
made references to publishers in
their testimony at Whitworth's
trial here and at least three authors
of Walker spy books attended parts
of the trial.
Laura Walker Snyder, 26, one of
John Walker's daughters, testified
that she had a book in the works
and said the writer was in the
courtroom audience.
Another daughter. Margaret
Walker. 27, testified that an author
is writing her "life story." She also
told jurors that after her father was
arrested on May Z0, 1985. he tried
to enlist her aid in finding a
publisher for his memoirs. She
declined.
Barbara Walker, 48, ex-wife of
the spy and the tipster who turned
him in to the FBI, also has been
trying to arrange a book deal.
Other Book Projects
Walker family members aze not
the only ones involved in book
projects. The first of the Walker
books, "Family Treason: The
Walker Spy Case," by Jack
Kneece, is due out soon. Kneece,
who began work on the book soon
after Walker's arrest, said his pub-
lisher. Stein & Day Publishers, was
awaiting a verdict in Whitworth's
case before releasing it. Jurors are
in their second week of delibera-
tions.
Former Naval Intelli epee Ser-
v1Fe as ent ohn Barron a ea ers
itor who Q- ave ex_
1]Prf t~ Pc~, tim~ny nn ths+ K('R ~e
prosecution witness at Whit-
worth s trial. said in a telephone
interview that he too a, -,~ ,~
~L'4rk on a book ab~ur rh raae
Some publishing industry sourc_
es were skeptical that any of the
planned books would have a maz-
ket. Readers mlt~ get a feeling oI
deja vu from the books because the
Walker spy story has been widely
reported in newspapers and on
television, said A. Richard Barber,
associate editor of Inside Book
Selling, a trade publication.
"A book or possibly two can find
a market," Barber said. "After that,
the market gets diluted."
A television movie, however,
might draw interest, as would an
overview book about spying, he
suggested. At least one such book is
Planned-by co-authors Thomas B.
Allen and Norman Polmar, who
will devote a chapter to Walker,
Polmar said.
Question of Retroactivity
Meanwhile, members of Con-
gress who hope to stop spies from
profiting from their activities doubt
that any new law will apply retro-
actively to the Walkers. New stat-
utes generally cannot invalidate
existing contracts.
"I recognize that we would have
some legal problems with that,"
Rep. George W. Gekas (R-Pa.),
who introduced a bill last week,
said in a telephone interview.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on
June 25 introduced an amendment
to an anti-terrorism package of
bills that also would bar spies from
collecting royalties. The Reagan
Administration supports the legis-
lation.
A law already on the books bars
federal convicts who physically
injured their victims from reaping
royalties from books or films about
their crimes. Cekas' and Stevens'
bills would extend the law to
include convicted spies.
B
ut while the proposed legisla-
tion might not affect John Walker,
any royalties likely would go to the
Internal Revenue Service anyway,
said Walker's defense lawyer, Fed.
era! Public Defender Fred Warren
Bennett of Baltimore. ,
The IRS is trying to recoup
$252.000 ui taxes, plus interest and
penalties, stemming from the
roughly $700,000 that Walker ad-
mitted collecting from the Soviets
during his 17 years as a spy.
Families Could Profit
John Walker could earmark his
share of the royalties for son
Michael, who was sentenced to 25
years in prison but who will be
eligible for parole in eight years.
John Walker entered his guilty
plea and agreed to testify against
Whitworth in exchange fora light-
er sentence for his son, lawyers
have said. Arthur Walker has been
given a life sentence, but his book
profits could go to his family,
sources familiar with the case said.
Stanley Reed, a Bethesda,. Md.,
lawyer for Walker in a case chat=
lenging the IRS demand for back
taxes, criticized the congressional
legislation.
"We ought to be honest enough
to address [he fact that people
other than spies commit illegal acts
all the time and then sell their
rights to their stories and obtain
profits," Reed said.
But not all attorneys involved in
the case believe the book and
movie deals are the best of ideas.
"Do you think it is going to help
him with the parole board, this
Pandering?" asked Charles C.
Bernstein, who represents Michael
Walker in the espionage case.
"I[ is tacky and in poor taste. The
government ought to grab the
money if there is any way to do it. I
just think it is outrageous."
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 :CIA-RDP90-009658000100370012-1