A top American scientist who once worked for
the Pentagon and the US space agency NASA was arrested Monday and
charged with attempted spying for Israel, the Department of Justice
said.
Stewart David Nozette, 52, developed an experiment that fueled the
discovery of water on the south pole of the moon, and previously held
special security clearance at the Department of Energy on atomic
materials, the DOJ said.
He is charged with "attempted espionage for knowingly and willfully
attempting to communicate, deliver, and transmit classified information
relating to the national defense of the United States to an individual
that Nozette believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer," the DOJ
said.
Nozette had been dealing with an FBI undercover agent in a sting
operation, the department said, adding there was no wrongdoing by
Israel.
Nozette, who was arrested in the Washington suburb of Chevy Chase,
Maryland and taken into custody, could make his first court appearance
Tuesday on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in
prison.
"The conduct alleged in this complaint is serious and should serve
as a warning to anyone who would consider compromising our nation's
secrets for profit," said David Kris, assistant attorney general for
national security.
In addition to stints with NASA and the Department of Energy,
Nozette worked at the White House on the National Space Council under
then-president George H.W. Bush in 1989 and 1990.
"From 1989 through 2006, Nozette held security clearances as high as
top secret and had regular, frequent access to classified information
and documents related to the US national defense," the Justice
Department said.
In early September, Nozette received a phone call from a person
"purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer, but who was in fact
an undercover employee of the FBI," the DOJ said.
"Nozette met with the UCE (undercover employee) that day and
discussed his willingness to work for Israeli intelligence," informing
the agent that "he had, in the past, held top security clearances and
had access to US satellite information."
The scientist offered to "answer questions about this information in exchange for money."
Over the next several weeks, Nozette and the undercover agent
exchanged envelopes of money for answers to lists of questions about US
satellite technology.
"In addition, Nozette allegedly offered to reveal additional
classified information that directly concerned nuclear weaponry,
military spacecraft or satellites, and other major weapons systems,"
DOJ said.
FBI agents retrieved a manila envelope left by Nozette in a
designated location this month that "contained information classified
as both top secret and secret that concerned US satellites, early
warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale
attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of
defense strategy."
Raw Story/AFP