Stewart Nozette, 52, a reputed U.S scientist was arrested on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of attempted espionage against the United States. Nozette, who previously held a respectable position in NASA and for years had top security clearance, in matters of national security, was apprehended by FBI agents, when he expressed his wish to spy for Israel. The confession was made to an undercover FBI agent, posing as an Israeli intelligence officer.
Nozette was arrested from Chevy Chase, Maryland, a suburb of Washington and is expected to be produced in front of a federal court today, where if convicted, the scientist could face a term of life imprisonment on charges of attempted espionage.
According to David Kris (Assistant Attorney General for National Security),
“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.”
Stewart Nozette is known to highly regarded in the scientific community, especially after the experiment he designed that helped NASA find water in south polar region of the moon. Stewart also held high level clearance in the Department of Energy, relating to atomic substances.
According to the U.S Justice Department,
“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. In addition, Nozette allegedly offered to reveal additional classified information that directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, and other major weapons systems.”
In the sting operation devised by the FBI, the scientist told the undercover FBI agent that, he indeed had high level security clearance and that, Nozette would like to work for the Israeli intelligence for money. In the days during the sting operation, Nozette revealed classified information about U.S satellite systems and security to the undercover agent and also accepted bundles of cash on many occasions.
Via Space War.
