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1990 - 1992     Return to   HOME   DATES   NAMES   ORGANIZATIONS


1990 - 1992

1992 - JOSEPH GARFIELD BROWN, former US airman and martial arts instructor, was arrested by FBI agents on 27 December 1992, and charged with spying for the Philippine government. Brown allegedly provided an official there with illegally obtained secret CIA documents on Iraqi terrorist activities during the Persian Gulf War and assassination plans by a Philippine insurgent group. The former US airman was arrested at Dulles International Airport after being lured to the US from the Philippines by undercover FBI agents with the promise of a job teaching self-defense tactics to CIA agents. On the following day he was indicted on three counts of espionage in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Brown enlisted in the US Air Force in 1966 and served until 1968. He continued to reside in the Philippines, working as a martial arts instructor for the Department of Tourism until the time of his arrest. He is accused of obtaining classified documents in 1990 and 1991 in Manila from CIA secretary, VIRGINIA JEAN BAYNES, and passing them to a Philippine government official. An FBI spokesman stated that Baynes pleaded guilty to espionage in federal court on 22 May 1992, and served a 41-month prison term.

 The FBI began its investigation in April 1991 after an internal CIA inquiry determined that Baynes, who joined the agency in 1987 and who was assigned two years later to the embassy in Manila, had passed two or three classified documents to Brown. Baynes had met Brown when she enrolled in a karate class which he taught at an embassy annex. According to Baynes, as the friendship between her and Brown grew in the late summer of 1990, he asked her to obtain CIA information on assassinations planned by an insurgent group that were to be carried out in the Philippines. Baynes who held a Top Secret clearance complied with his request by removing secret documents from the embassy.

Brown pleaded guilty in April 1993 to a charge of conspiring to commit espionage by delivering secret CIA documents to a Philippine government official. He was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec 1992, "Ex-US Airman Charged With Espionage"
Washington Post, 6 Jan 1993, "Spy Charge Played Down by Official"

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1992 - JEFFREY STEPHEN RONDEAU, a US Army sergeant stationed at Bangor, Maine, was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on 22 October 1992, and charged with espionage for providing Army and NATO defense secrets, including tactical nuclear weapons plans, to intelligence agents of Hungary and Czechoslovakia from 1985 through 1988.

Rondeau was allegedly part of the Conrad spy ring which operated out of the 8th Infantry Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany, in the mid-1980s. A German court convicted former US Army Sergeant Clyde Lee Conrad of high treason in 1990 and sentenced him to life in prison. The inquiry into Rondeau's involvement was aided by the cooperation of Roderick James Ramsay. In 1991, Ramsey, also a former Army sergeant stationed in Germany, was sentenced to 36 years in prison by an American court for his involvement in the ring. As a recognition signal, Ramsay reportedly gave Rondeau a torn dollar bill to use when dealing with others in the plot.

The US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida said, "The espionage charge in this case is especially serious because it related to the allied defense of Central Europe including the use of tactical nuclear weapons and military communications." The three-count indictment of Rondeau charged that he conspired with Conrad, Ramsay, and others to "copy, steal, photograph, and videotape" documents and sell them to Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The indictment did not specify what amount of money he may have received. On 28 March 1994, Rondeau pleaded guilty to espionage. In June, 1994, Rondeau, along with Sgt. Jeffery Eugene Gregory, another member of the espionage ring, was sentenced by a military court to 18 years in prison.

Houston Chronicle, 23 Oct 1992, "US Soldier Is Charged With Spying"
Atlanta Constitution, 23 Oct 1992, "Soldier Accused of Selling NATO Plans to Communists"

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1991 - CHARLES LEE FRANCIS ANZALONE, a 23-year old Marine corporal stationed in Yuma, Arizona, was arrested 13 February after a four-month investigation and charged with suspicion of attempted espionage. In November 1990, Anzalone, a telephone lineman, called the Soviet Embassy in Washington to offer his services as a spy (under the pretext of asking about a college scholarship). An FBI agent posing as a KGB intelligence officer contacted Anzalone who passed him two technical manuals about cryptographic equipment, a security badge, and guard schedules. Anzalone, who is part Mohawk, told the agent that he hated capitalism, the American government, and held a grudge against the nation's treatment of native Americans. Anzalone testified that his offering to spy was a ruse to get money from the Soviets. On 3 May 1991, Anzalone was found guilty of attempted espionage. He was also convicted of adultery with the wife of another Marine stationed in the Persian Gulf, and of possession and use of marijuana. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

San Diego Union 2 May 1991, "Tape Shows Marine and Soviet Spy"
Los Angeles Times 4 May 1991, "Marine Guilty in Spying Case"

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1991 - JEFFREY M. CARNEY, former intelligence specialist with the Air Force, was sentenced at a general court-martial December, 1991, to 38 years. He pleaded guilty to charges of espionage, conspiracy, and desertion. Carney entered the Air Force in December 1980. From April 1982 to April 1984 he was stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin where he was a linguist. While at Tempelhof, he began copying classified documents which he then provided to the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi). In 1984 he was transferred to Goodfellow AFB in Texas where he worked as an instructor while continuing to spy for East Germany.

After defecting to East Germany in 1985 he continued to aid the Communists by intercepting and translating official telephone communications of US military commanders and embassy officials in Berlin. Carney apparently became disillusioned with the Air Force. He originally intended to defect to East Germany, but allowed himself to be drawn into espionage by East German agents who expertly manipulated him and claimed his complete loyalty. He was apprehended in Berlin in April 1991 by Air Force OSI agents.

Cincinnati Post, 21 Dec 1991, "US Spy Gets 38 Years"
Air Force Times, 6 Jan 1992, "Ex-Intelligence Specialist Guilty of Spying"

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1991 - ALBERT T. SOMBOLAY, a specialist 4th class with the Army artillery, pleaded guilty in July 1991 to espionage and aiding the enemy. He was tried by military judge in Baumholder, Germany, and sentenced to confinement at hard labor for 34 years, reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and dishonorable discharge.

 Sombolay was born in Zaire, Africa. He became a US citizen in 1978 and entered the Army in 1985 as a cannon crewman. In December 1990, assigned to the 8th Infantry Division in Baumholder, Germany, he contacted the Iraqi and Jordanian embassies to volunteer his services in support of the "Arab cause." To the Jordanian Embassy in Brussels he passed information on US troop readiness and promised more information to include videotapes of US equipment and positions in Saudi Arabia. He told the Jordanians that he would be deployed to Saudi Arabia and could provide them useful information. To the Iraqi Embassy in Bonn, Germany, he offered the same services, but the embassy did not respond.

On 29 December, Sombolay's unit was deployed to Saudi Arabia, as part of Desert Shield, without him. Still in Germany, Sombolay continued to contact the Iraqis and provided a Jordanian representative several items of chemical warfare equipment (chemical suit, boots, gloves, and decontamination gear). His activity was discovered by US Army Military Intelligence. After Sombolay's arrest in March 1991, he admitted to providing DESERT SHIELD deployment information, military identification cards, and chemical protection equipment to Jordanian officials. His motivation was money.

Cincinnati Post, 7 Dec 1991, "Anatomy of a Spy"
Huntsville Times 4 Dec 1991, "Army Spy Sentenced to 34 Years"

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1990 - RODERICK JAMES RAMSAY, a former US Army sergeant, was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on 7 June and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. Ramsay joined the Army in 1981 and was transferred to West Germany in June 1983 where he was recruited by then-Army Sgt. Clyde Lee Conrad. (Conrad was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 1990 for treason.) Ramsay received $20,000 for selling military secrets that could have caused the collapse of NATO—Top Secret plans for the defense of Central Europe, location and use of NATO tactical nuclear weapons, and the ability of NATO's military communications—that were passed to Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

An FBI official said, "It's one of the most serious breaches ever—it's unprecedented what went over to the other side. The ability to defend ourselves is neutralized because they have all our plans." Ramsay initially used a 35-millimeter camera to photograph classified documents, but then switched to more effective videotape. He reportedly recorded a total of about 45 hours of videotape. Ramsay is said to have a high IQ, is multilingual, and has the "ability to recall minute details, facts and figures from hundreds of volumes of documents." The FBI described him as "brilliant, but erratic." In West Germany he worked as a clerk-typist in the 8th Infantry Division. When arrested he was unemployed, living sometimes at his mother's house and sometimes in his car.

In September 1991 he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. On 28 August 1992 he was sentenced to 36 years in prison. The sentence reflects his cooperation with investigators. According to the FBI, this case was the most extensive espionage investigation in the history of the FBI and considered to be the largest US espionage conspiracy case in modern history.

Los Angeles Times 9 Jun 1990, "Alleged Spy Called Brilliant, Erratic"
Washington Times 29 Aug 1992 "Spying Sergeant Gets 36 Years"
Security Awareness Bulletin 1-97, "Profile of a Spy"

 

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