U.S. Navy: Sailor Charged With Espionage Admitted Wrongs During Interrogation

Brock Vergakis at the Virginian-Pilot offers a piece on the Lin espionage case.

A Taiwanese-born sailor charged with espionage admitted to the crime after he was arrested at Honolulu’s airport and was interrogated by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, but his attorney says the statement shouldn’t be admissible at a trial, according to evidence presented at a preliminary hearing at Norfolk Naval Station last month.

Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin is a naval flight officer who faces two counts of espionage, three counts of attempted espionage and five counts of communicating defense information. Espionage is one of the most serious crimes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, punishable under certain circumstances by death.

The Navy played audio from Lin’s hearing for media outlets in Norfolk and at the Pentagon on Thursday. No witnesses testified, but prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted documentary evidence. Lin declined to make a statement at the hearing.

It’s unclear when a decision will be made on whether to try Lin. U.S. Fleet Forces Command commander Adm. Phil Davidson doesn’t have a deadline for that decision.

Cmdr. Johnathan Stephens, a military prosecutor, said agents interrogated Lin for about 11 hours over two days. Stephens said video from the questioning shows Lin admitting to committing espionage, making false official statements and committing adultery.

The Navy has not publicly said what classified information it accuses Lin of providing or to which government, although Lin’s attorneys have said it is Taiwan.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://pilotonline.com/news/military/local/navy-sailor-charged-with-espionage-admitted-wrongs-during-interrogation/article_1e59bf9b-62b4-5f95-a162-8791d1e5f05a.html

Note: The above photo of Lin was released by the U.S. Navy.
  

Norfolk, Virginia Is A Hotbed For Espionage Cases Involving The Navy

I was stationed at the U.S. naval base in Norfolk, Virginia for a couple months in 1974 while I was waiting for orders to a Navy tugboat at the nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland.

So I was interested in reading a piece by Brock Vergakis at the Virginian-Pilot on how Norfolk was a hotbed for espionage cases involving the Navy.

Navy espionage cases are rare, but when they do occur, Norfolk often plays a starring role.

A Taiwanese-born officer is the third sailor in the past decade to be charged with espionage or attempted espionage by the Navy, with both previous cases resulting in convictions in a military courtroom in Norfolk, according to the service.

Civilians also have been convicted recently in Norfolk of attempted espionage. Last year, an engineer who stole plans for the future aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford with the intention of giving them to Egyptian spies was sentenced to 11 years. In 2014, a former petty officer first class and submariner was sentenced to 30 years for giving "Top Secret" information to undercover FBI agents posing as Russian intelligence officers.

While espionage is investigated by U.S. agencies around the globe, the extensive military presence in Hampton Roads provides ample opportunities for would-be spies. One of the biggest security breaches in the nation's history occurred when a Norfolk-based sailor began selling secrets to the Soviet Union in 1967, but wasn't arrested until 1985. That spy, John Walker Jr., died in prison in 2014.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://pilotonline.com/news/military/norfolk-is-a-hotbed-for-espionage-cases-involving-the-navy/article_d682c417-52b4-5cf0-b9c2-03352c5c9f46.html

You can also read an earlier post on the current Navy spy case via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/04/us-naval-flight-officer-lt-cmdr-edward.html

Note: The above aerial photo of the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia was released by the U.S. Navy.

Notorious Cold War Spy John Walker Dies In Prison

Denise M. Watson at the Virginian-Pilot offers a piece on the death of Cold War spy John Walker.

John A. Walker Jr, the mastermind who for years operated one of America’s most devastating spy rings out of Norfolk, has died.

Walker, 77, was fewer than nine months away from his expected release from federal prison in Butner, N.C. He had been sentenced in 1986 to two life terms, plus 10 years, but his actual prison stay was to have been much shorter because of federal parole guidelines at the time.

He died Thursday, according to prison officials. He had suffered health issues in recent years, including throat cancer.

For 18 years, Walker sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets, both as a cryptologist in the Navy and after he retired. He eventually enlisted espionage help from his brother Arthur; his son, Michael; and a Navy friend, Jerry Whitworth. Arthur Walker died last month.

The security breach was considered one of the biggest in the nation’s history.

Robert Hunter, the FBI agent who arrested John Walker, described the ring’s leader as one of the most treacherous men he’d ever met.

“I think the man was pure evil,” said Hunter, who is retired and living in Virginia Beach.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/spy-ring-mastermind-john-walker-dies-nc-prison

You can also read my GreatHistory.com On Espionage column on John Walker via the below links:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2009/04/john-walker-notorious-navy-spy.html

http://greathistory.com/john-walker-notorious-spy-part-ii.htm

Note: The above photo of John Walker was provided by the FBI.

Retired Sailor Guilty Of Attempted Espionage

Scott Daugherty at the Virginian-Pilot reports that Robert Patrick Hoffman was found guilty of attempted espionage.

A retired sailor from Virginia Beach was convicted Wednesday of trying to pass classified information to Russian spies.

Robert Patrick Hoffman II, 40, is set to be sentenced Dec. 2 in U.S. District Court. He faces up to life in prison for the one count of attempted espionage.

It took a jury 90 minutes Wednesday to reach a unanimous verdict and reject Hoffman’s defense that he actually was trying to lure his handlers into a trap.

Hoffman – a petty officer first class who retired in 2011 – passed classified information to undercover FBI agents posing as Russian intelligence officers

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/retired-sailor-guilty-attempted-espionage

You can also read the FBI news release on Hoffman's arrest via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2012/12/former-us-navy-sailor-charged-in.html

The Navy SEALs Turn 50: Elite Frogmen Muster In Virginia To Celebrate

Kate Wiltrout at the Virginian-Pilot reports on the muster of U.S. Navy frogmen in Virginia to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Navy SEALs.

You can read the story via the below link:

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/elite-frogmen-muster-va-beach-seals-turns-50

I've covered the Navy SEALs for a good number of years and below are two of my Counterterrorism magazine pieces on the Navy's Special Operations warriors.

The first piece offers a Q&A with Dick Couch, a retired Navy SEAL who served in the Vietnam War and wrote an interesting book on the SEALs in the Iraq War.

You can read the interview via the below links:

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/DickCouchInterview1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/DickCouchInterview2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/DickCouchInterview3.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/DickCouchInterview4.jpg

My second linked magazine piece offers a history of how the SEALs developed from the World War II Navy UDT frogmen. 

You can read the piece via the below links:

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WWIIFrogmenJPG1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WWIIFrogmenJPG2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WWIIFrogmenJPG3.jpg

The above U.S. Navy photo was taken by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Meranda Keller.