Another Attempted Israeli Espionage Plot Foiled
20 October 2009 10:39 am by Taylor Marsh
“I don’t get recruited by Mossad every day,” Nozette allegedly told the FBI agent, referring to the Israeli intelligence agency, according to the criminal complaint. “I knew this day would come.” Asked why, he said: “I just had a feeling,” according to the complaint. – Bloomberg
via Nasa.gov
UP front, the indictment states: The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under U.S. laws in this case. The Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
It’s particularly delicious that he was arrested at the Mayflower Hotel, adding a little Hollywood flash to the tale.
Nozette is known for his work on the lunar Mini-RF probe, which helped in the discovery of water on the Moon. But it’s also being reported in the indictment that Nozette once worked “as a consultant for an Israeli aerospace company.”
DOJ announced the espionage charges yesterday:
A criminal complaint unsealed today in the District of Columbia charges Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, with attempted espionage for knowingly and willfully attempting to communicate, deliver, and transmit classified information relating to the national defense of the United States to an individual that Nozette believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under U.S. laws in this case.
Nozette was arrested earlier today by FBI agents and is expected to make his initial appearance tomorrow in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“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,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
An undercover employee of the FBI (UCE) contacted Nozette, with the plot lint then proceeding to unfold like an episode of NCIS (the original, not the wanna be L.A. knock off edition that ruins the brand).
The UCE explained to Nozette that the Israeli intelligence agency, or “Mossad,” would arrange for a communication system so that Nozette could pass information to the Mossad in a post office box. Nozette agreed to provide regular, continuing information to the UCE and asked for an Israeli passport
The most hilarious part is that Nozette admitted that he no longer had access or security clearance, but that he could “recall the classified information to which he had been granted access, indicating that it was all still in his head.”
In the end it was all about the money, Nozette making sure his contact knew he needed the cash to be delivered in “under ten thousand” deposits. He was captured on videotape at a drop box delivering information that was “Top Secret and Secret that concerned U.S. satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defense strategy.”
Laura Rozen has an interesting tidbit in her post on the matter. We learn that Nozette used to write speeches for Dan Quayle and worked in Bush 41’s White House.
