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Gold9472
10-20-2009, 10:09 AM
US scientist charged with attempted spying for Israel

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_scientist_charged_with_attempted_10192009.html

Published: Monday October 19, 2009

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."

Gold9472
10-29-2009, 11:26 AM
US scientist faces death for plot to spy for Israel

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/scientist-faces-death-plot-spy-israel/

By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 -- 10:02 am

WASHINGTON — A leading US scientist who had worked at the White House and NASA could face execution for offering to sell secrets to Israel for two million dollars, according to documents filed in federal court.

Stewart Nozette, 52, is set to appear in court Thursday for a hearing on whether he should remain in detention after he was arrested in a sting operation involving an FBI agent posing as an Israeli official.

Nozette, arrested Monday, is charged with two counts of attempted espionage for allegedly trying to sell secrets to Israel, according to court documents filed late Wednesday.

Based on the indictment allegations, "the maximum penalty the defendant faces, if convicted, is death," said the government filing supporting Nozette's continued detention pending trial.

In Nozette's talks with the alleged Israeli agent, the scientist said he wanted "roughly two million dollars as compensation for his espionage."

Gold9472
10-29-2009, 08:29 PM
US scientist pleads not guilty in Israel spy case

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_scientist_pleads_not_guilty_in_I_10292009.html

Published: Thursday October 29, 2009

A leading NASA scientist credited with helping discover water on the Moon pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he tried to sell US defense secrets to Israel for two million dollars.

Judge Deborah Robinson rejected a bail request from Stewart David Nozette, who was arrested in an October 18 sting operation, saying he was considered a flight risk and should remain in jail pending trial.

Nozette, 52, is charged with two counts of attempted espionage for allegedly trying to sell secrets to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer.

Court documents from the prosecution accused Nozette, who for years had a high-level US government security clearance, of seeking "roughly two million dollars as compensation for his espionage."

He "delivered and communicated this classified information to an individual he believed was an Israeli intelligence officer in exchange for an alias, a foreign passport, and cash payments," they said.

In their final discussion, the undercover FBI agent allegedly handed Nozette 10,000 dollars in 100 dollar bills, which he tried to hide inside a hotel bathroom toilet tank when federal agents arrested him.

The FBI also searched Nozette's safe deposit box at a bank in San Diego, California where they discovered 55 gold 'Krugerrand' coins worth a total of 50,000 dollars and 30,000 dollars in savings bonds, the court documents said.

The prosecution argued that this meant Nozette would flee if given the chance, and should therefore be refused bail.

Nozette worked at the US space agency NASA, the Energy Department, and even served on the White House's National Space Council in 1989 and 1990, under then-president George H.W. Bush.

Between November 1998 and January 2008 Nozette was paid a total of 225,000 dollars for legally providing an Israeli government-owned aerospace company with technical data and advice, according to the indictment.

On January 30 Nozette pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges, and agreed to pay more than 265,000 dollars restitution to the government.

If convicted, Nozette could face the death penalty although his execution is considered unlikely, since the only US civilians ever executed for espionage were Soviet nuclear spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg back in 1953.

Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services for more than 20 years and was arrested in 2001, pleaded guilty to avoid execution and is serving a life sentence.

CIA double agent Aldrich Ames, convicted in 1994 on similar charges, also bargained his way out of a death sentence and is spending the rest of his life behind bars.