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1984 - ERNST FORBRICH, a West German automobile mechanic, was arrested 19 March in Clearwater Beach, Florida, after paying $550 for a classified military document supplied by an undercover agent posing as an Army intelligence officer. Forbrich was described as a conduit who passed US military secrets to East German Intelligence and by his own admission had been selling documents to East German intelligence for a period of 17 years. Forbrich traveled frequently to the United States, contacting former US military personnel who had served in West Germany. Convicted in June on two counts of espionage, Forbrich was sentenced to 15 years.

Washington Post, 21 Mar 1984, "West German Accused of Spying for East"
New York Times, 21 Mar 1984, "German is Arrested on Spying Charge"

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1984 - BRUCE LELAND KEARN, a Navy operations specialist assigned as command Secret control officer on board the USS Tuscaloosa, was arrested in March 1984 and convicted at a general court-martial for dereliction of duty, and willfully delivering, transmitting or communicating classified documents to unauthorized persons. No nation was named as having received any of the classified materials. While absent without leave, Kearn left behind a briefcase which was found to contain 147 classified microfiche (copies of nearly 15,000 pages of Secret documents), seven Confidential crypto publications, and child pornographic photographs and literature. He was sentenced to 18 months based on a plea bargain.

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1984 - ARNE TREHOLT, head of the press section of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, was arrested 20 January by Norwegian authorities while boarding a plane for Vienna. He reportedly had a suitcase of classified documents in his possession. A search of his residence uncovered a collection of 6,000 pages of classified material. Treholt, charged with supplying Secret NATO documents to the KGB, had come under suspicion as early as 1980 while he was serving as a member of the Norwegian delegation to the U.N. in New York. At that time he was placed under surveillance by the FBI. Pre-trial statements and testimony revealed that he received over $7,000 from Soviet agents and that he had been subject to blackmail. It was also believed that Treholt was motivated by pro-Soviet ideological beliefs. Treholt pleaded innocent to charges and underwent an 11-week trial by jury. On 20 June 1985 the Norwegian court found Treholt guilty of seven counts of espionage. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

New York Times, 29 Jan 1984, "Portrait of Spy as Golden Young Man"
Newsweek, 6 Feb 1984, "The Spy Who Wore Jogging Shoes"

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1984 - ALICE MICHELSON, an East German national, was apprehended 1 October as she was boarding a flight in New York to Czechoslovakia with tape recordings hidden in a cigarette pack. Michelson, apparently acting as courier for Soviet Intelligence, had been given the classified material by a US Army sergeant who was posing as a KGB collaborator. Michelson was indicted and held without bail; however, before coming to trial she was exchanged (June 1985), along with three other Soviet Bloc agents, for 25 persons who had "been helpful" to the United States. The FBI has described the case as "a classic spy operation."

Washington Post, 3 Oct 1984, "East German Woman Charged with Spying" and
Washington Post, 3 Oct 1984, "FBI Agent, German, Analyst in Intelligence Cases"
New York Times, 11 Oct 1984, "East German Indicted in Spy Plot"

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1984 - RICHARD CRAIG SMITH, former Army counterintelligence agent, was arrested on 4 April and indicted for selling information to Soviet agents regarding the identities of six double-agents in the US Having failed in business after leaving government service and faced with severe financial difficulties, Smith reportedly met on three occasions with KGB officers in Tokyo and received $11,000 for classified information. Smith himself initiated contact with the FBI in the summer of 1983, claiming he had "conned" the Soviets out of $11,000. Later, Smith claimed that he had been working under the direction of CIA operatives in Honolulu. After months of pre-trial litigation over the admissibility of evidence, Smith was acquitted by a Federal jury on 11 April 1986.

Washington Post, 9 Apr 1984, "Unlikely Character for a Spy Story"
Washington Post, 11 Apr 1984, "Spy-Case Suspect....."
Washington Post, 13 Apr 1986, "Smith Celebrates His Freedom"

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1984 - RICHARD MILLER, first member of the FBI to be indicted for espionage, was arrested with two accomplices, SVETLANA OGORODNIKOV and NIKOLAI OGORODNIKOV on 3 October. According to news reports, Miller provided classified documents to the Ogorodnikovs, two pro-Soviet Russian émigrés, and demanded $50,000 in gold and $15,000 cash in return. Miller, who was faced with financial difficulties, is alleged to have been sexually involved with Svetlana Ogorodnikov and was preparing to travel with her to Vienna at the time of his arrest. A search of Miller's residence uncovered several classified documents. At the time of their trial the Ogorodnikovs were accused of having been "utility agents" for the KGB since 1980. After a ten-week trial, and in an agreement with federal prosecutors, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. Nikolai Ogorodnikov was immediately sentenced to eight years imprisonment. His wife later received a sentence of 18 years.

Richard Miller pleaded innocent and after 11 weeks of testimony, a mistrial was declared. Following a second trial which ended on 19 June 1986, Miller was found guilty of espionage and bribery. His claim that he was trying to infiltrate the KGB as a double agent was rejected by the jury. On 14 July 1986, Richard Miller was sentenced to two consecutive life terms and 50 years on other charges. This conviction following his second trial was overturned in 1989 on the grounds that US District Judge David Kenyon erred in admitting polygraph evidence. He was granted bail in October 1989 while awaiting a new trial on charges that he passed Top Secret FBI data to the Soviet woman who was his lover. Miller was forbidden to leave the Los Angeles area without special permission and underwent therapy as ordered by the Probation Department. On October 9, 1990, he was convicted on all counts of espionage for the second time and, on 4 February 1991, was sentenced to 20 years in Federal prison. On 28 January 1993, a federal appeals court upheld his conviction. On 6 May 1994, Miller was released from prison following the reduction of his sentence to 13 years by a Federal judge.

Time Magazine, 15 Oct 1984, "Spy vs. Spy Saga"
Washington Post, 4 Oct 1984, "FBI Agent Charged in Espionage"
Washington Post, 5 Oct 1984, "Accused Spies Portrayed as Incompetents"
Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb 1991, "Miller Gets 20-Year Term For Spying"

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1984 - ROBERT E. CORDREY, a Marine private, was convicted 13 August by court-martial of 18 counts of attempting to contact representatives of communist countries for the purpose of selling classified information about nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Cordrey had been an instructor at the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The charges were not contested and the case was not disclosed to the public until January 1985 due to the extremely sensitive nature of the investigation. Apparently Cordrey attempted to contact Soviet, Czech, East German, and Polish agents. He was sentenced to 12 years at hard labor by the military court; however, his pre-trial agreement with prosecutors limited his jail term to two years.

New York Times, 10 Jan 1985, "Marine Gets 12 Years At Spy Court-Martial"

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1984 - SAMUEL L. MORISON, a civilian analyst with the Office of Naval Intelligence, was arrested 1 October for supplying Jane's Publications with classified photography showing a Soviet nuclear powered carrier under construction. The photographs were subsequently published in Jane's Defence Weekly (July 1984). Morison, described as a heavy spender and unhappy with his Navy Department job, had been employed by Jane's as a part-time contributor. A search of his apartment turned up two portions of Navy documents marked Secret.

On 17 October 1985, after a seven-day trial, Morison became the first individual convicted under the 1917 Espionage Code for unauthorized disclosure to the press. Also convicted of theft of government property, Morison was sentenced to two years imprisonment on 4 December 1985. The decision was appealed and in April 1988 the conviction was upheld by the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals. In October 1988 the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, thus endorsing the use of the espionage code for prosecuting cases of unauthorized disclosure.

Washington Post, 3 Oct 1984, "Navy Analyst Arrested in Photo Sale"
Washington Post, 29 Oct 1984, "Unlikely Espionage Suspect"
Washington Post, 18 Oct 1985, "Morison Guilty of Spying, Stealing Documents"
New York Times, 8 Oct 1984, "Disclosing Secrets to the Press..."

1984 - JAY CLYDE WOLFF, 24-year-old auto painter and former Navy enlisted man, was arrested on 17 December in Gallup, New Mexico, for offering to sell classified documents dealing with US weapons systems aboard a US Navy vessel. Wolff who was discharged from the Navy in 1983 met with an undercover agent and offered to sell classified material for $5,000 to $6,000. According to the FBI, a tip led to the meeting with Wolff at a convenience store where he was apprehended. Wolff pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to sell classified documents and on 28 June 1985 the former service member was sentenced to five years in prison.

1984 - KARL F. KOECHER, a former CIA employee, and his wife, were arrested 27 November as they were preparing to fly to Switzerland. At the time, he was believed to be the first foreign agent to have penetrated the CIA having operated successfully as an "illegal" for Czech intelligence for 19 years. In 1962 Koecher was trained as a foreign agent by Czech intelligence. He and his wife staged a phony defection to the US in 1965 and soon became known as an outspoken anti-Communist member of the academic community in New York City. Both became naturalized citizens in 1971 and Koecher obtained a translator job with the CIA two years later where he translated Top Secret materials until 1975.

Koecher, who claimed that he was a double-agent, was arrested after being observed making frequent contact with KGB operatives. According to Federal prosecutors, Mrs. Koecher operated as a paid courier for Czech intelligence until 1983. An FBI agent testified that from February 1973 to August 1983, Karl Koecher passed on to Czech agents highly classified materials including names of CIA personnel. However the case never came to trial. On 11 February 1985, Koecher was exchanged in Berlin for Soviet dissident Anatoly Shcharansky.

New York Times, 28 Nov 1984, "Man Charged with Passing State Secrets"
New York Times, 5 Dec 1984, "Wife is Held in Contempt of Court for Refusing to Testify "
New York Times, 13 Jan 1985, "Intrigue and Countercharges Mark Case of Purported Spies"
Washington Post, 17 Apr 1988, "Moscow Mole in the CIA"

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1984 - THOMAS PATRICK CAVANAGH, an engineering specialist for Northrop Corporation holding a Secret clearance, was arrested on 18 December and charged with attempting to sell classified documents on Stealth aircraft technology to the Soviets. It is reported that Cavanagh's attempts to contact the Soviet Consulate were intercepted. A meeting was proposed at a Los Angeles motel by FBI undercover agents posing as USSR representatives where a deal could be negotiated. During a subsequent meeting, agents provided the $25,000 demanded for classified documents and made the arrest. Cavanagh, recently separated from his wife, faced mounting financial difficulties and feared that he was being denied a Top Secret clearance because of indebtedness. It is reported that no serious compromise occurred. Cavanagh pleaded guilty to two counts of espionage and on 23 May 1985 was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison.

New York Times, 19 Dec 1984, "Engineer is Held in Scheme to Sell Secrets"
Washington Post, 22 Dec 1984, "Engineer in Secrets Case is Held Without Bail"
DoD Security Institute, Security Awareness Bulletin, Dec 1985, Number 1-86

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