The FBI yesterday arrested a Maryland scientist who has had access to high-level nuclear data after he agreed to sell classified information to a fake Israeli intelligence officer, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 11, 2008).
(Oct. 20) -
Stewart Nozette, a U.S. scientist who once had access to sensitive nuclear information, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of attempted espionage (NASA photo).
Stewart Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged with trying to communicate, deliver and transmit classified secrets, the Justice Department said in a press release. He was expected to appear today in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Nozette spent nearly a decade in the 1990s developing cutting-edge technology for the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. While there, he was given high-level security clearance that allowed him access to information on nuclear-associated materials.
He has also worked at other government organizations, including NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, AP reported.
Nozette, for a decade beginning in 1998, provided technical advice for a firm that was owned solely by the Israeli government. In January, he reportedly failed to return home with two small computer drives that he had taken to another nation. The scientist was also reported to have expressed his willingness to provide secrets to Israel or some other state, according to the criminal complaint.
An undercover FBI agent on Sept. 3 contacted Nozette about working for Israeli intelligence, according to the affidavit. Nozette allegedly signed on during a meeting with the agent, requesting money in exchange for information on U.S. satellites.
In a subsequent meeting, Nozette said he could provide classified information from memory even though he did not have actual access to such material, the court record states.
Nozette received $2,000 for answering questions submitted through a post office box on U.S. satellite information. One answer, regarding experimental surveillance technology, had been designated as secret. The scientist also allegedly said he would provide information specifically regarding nuclear arms and other military systems.
Nozette received another $9,000 in cash for providing additional information, according to the court record.
The Justice Department did not allege any wrongdoing on the part of the Israeli government (Margasak/Barrett, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 20).