NAVY SON OF SPY SUSPECT ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE, SEIZED ABOARD NIMITZ

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504890031-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2012
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: May 23, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/22 :CIA-RDP90-009658000504890031-5
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23 T1ay 1985
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"`dViC;HINGTf1N^The Navy son ~ tors are understood to believe that
of a' Virginia man hccu_ sed of spying .money, rather than ideology, led
for the Soviet'Union was arrested the elder Walker to spy for the
Wednesday ::aboard: the"aircraft Soviets over a period of perhaps 15
carrier ~Nimit_z after evidence`im= years. Neighbors of Walker in
plicated him in `the alleged eepio= Norfolk, Va., wherq'he_ ran a pri-.
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Jotin
Wage, activities, of his father;
A: Walker Jr ~'~ ;'r,: ,.~ :~ :.. !;-n: ,.
Nav3+ officials, said Seaman ~Mi-
chael Lance Wallcer, 22~ was placed
in the brig of the Nimitz, on orders
of the Naval~Investigative Service;
which determined that he had been
cooperating with' his''father, ~47;
who retired from' the' Navy' an ~ a
communications specialist in 1976.
Hours later, -the U.S. attorney's
offictlF~its Baltiinore~f foimally
charged the .younger Walker with
commitfing -espionage and aiding
and abetting, the commission of
espionage.~It said a:15-pound box of
classified documents ~'wasr found
hidden rext-to'his b'unk` on the
Nimitz, which isdocked in`Israel.
Complaint Abont Data .=' --... . _.
"" Assi`stian~t U.S -Atty Michael
Schat2ow said in~an affidavit that
the younger Walker had com-
plained in a letter to h38 father that
he was becoming overburdened
with classified documents:
"What should 'I ,do- about the
increasing amounts `flf photos I
have been acquiring?.':' he asked in
the letter. "At the rate I am going, I
will -have over lOQ ~":pounds, ,of
souvenirs. I have run'?"out of
space .... Wou1dI be'asking too
much- if I were to ask ~ what the
status is of my previous photos?"
In another letter introduced in
federal court, he told his father that
he had been chosen "sailor of the
month" and asked: "Do you believe
~t~..
Walker had been working as a
clerk in the ship's operations de-
partment, which handles commu-
nications and combat functions of
the carrier, Navyoffcials said
Money Cited u Motive
FBI agents and Navy investiga-
vale security firm; describgd him as
a quiet, well-dressed-divorced man
who.,owned thr~e,,,sa~lboats and
dated a variety of women.. ..
The FBI arrested. him early
Monday at a motel ' in suburban
Rockville, Md, after trailing him to
an apparent "drop site.".where they
found a shopping... bag- containing
129_ secret Navy,. documents, in-
cluding material :believed::to be
from the Nitaitz. Authorities said a.
Soviet national assigned , to the
Soviet Embassy was;pe~n~fin thg
of the drop site.: =~.iilr? ,. ,.
`e Walker, in an appe~rent reference
to? his son, left ;a;; note:. in ~ the.
shopping bag that said, the material
';is .limited, unfortunately, due to
his .operating schedule ~ :: c- ..His
ship departed in early March."
` Monitors Soviet Ship' ~`
,~?According to the Navy, the Nim-
itz left Norfolk in mid-March and
has been visiting the Israeli port of
Haifa since Sunday. It makes regu-
lar cruises in the .Mediterranean
and monitors ~ the movements of
Soviet vessels. ,. _ , _
The elder Walker is being held
without bond in Baltimore until
evidence against hiu~ is presented
to a federal grand~.~uryr While
serving in . the Navy, he held
security clearances that enabled
him to see codes and other secret
material.
Investigators are known to be
contacting many of Walker's pri-
vate security clients in the Norfolk
area to determine the type of work
he performed for them. As a regis-
tered member of the American
Society for Industrial Security,
Walker was said to be accom-
plished in helping firms avoid elec-
tronic spying by business. Compels-
tors.
One firm where he checked the
security of corporate .briefing
rooms and telephones was Newport
News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
a leading defense contractor. But
company spokesman Jack
Schnaedter said. Walker "had
nothing to do with any classified
material."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/22 :CIA-RDP90-009658000504890031-5