Thursday, May 14, 2009

DOD official charged with espionage

DC - A civilian employee of the Defense Department was arrested Wednesday on espionage charges that he sold classified information and passed other sensitive documents to a spy for the Chinese government who has been convicted of compromising another Pentagon employee.

James Wilbur Fondren Jr., 62, was charged in federal court in Virginia with conspiracy to communicate classified information to an agent of a foreign government. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Fondren, who has been suspended since February 2008 from his job as deputy director of the U.S. Pacific Command's Washington liaison office, turned himself in to federal agents Wednesday morning and was released without having to post bond, but will be on GPS monitoring. (more) (more)