Military Calls Spy Damage Worse Than First Thought

The damage to U.S. security caused by the naval spy scandal is “even more serious” than first thought, but the Navy has no plans to change its submarine detection devices, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

The damage assessment has been increased based on information made available to Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger since he characterized the loss as “serious” last week, spokesman Michael I. Burch said.

However, Burch refused to say what that information is or to give a precise estimate of damage resulting from the alleged passing of naval secrets to the Soviet Union “because that just gives additional aid to our adversaries.”

At the same time, he characterized as “faulty” a published report that, because of the spy case, the Navy might have to rebuild parts of the undersea network of sound detectors that serve as an early warning system against a nuclear attack.

Burch refused to specify what he saw wrong in the report, which quoted experts as saying that replacing the “sound surveillance system” would be a costly, difficult step that might have to be taken to restore confidence in the supremacy of the U.S. submarine fleet.

But, when asked if the Navy intends to change its submarine detection devices if the allegations of a 20-year spy network prove true, Burch replied: “I’ve heard no discussion of that.”

Government sources, meanwhile, said that they believe investigators have arrested all the principals in the alleged spy ring and that any further charges probably will involve persons who performed “peripheral” tasks, such as transporting material to a drop site.

Retired Navy communications specialist John A. Walker Jr., now a private detective, and his son, Michael Lance Walker, a seaman aboard the nuclear carrier Nimitz, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Baltimore on charges of conspiring to turn over Navy secrets to Moscow.

The FBI has also arrested on espionage charges Arthur J. Walker, John’s brother, who is a defense engineer and retired Navy lieutenant commander, and Jerry A. Whitworth, a retired Navy man who has been described as John Walker’s best friend.

Half Brother Investigated

Government sources said Thursday that they believe Gary R. Walker, John’s half brother, is the person named as the fifth member of the ring in a message to John Walker’s alleged Soviet contact that FBI agents intercepted last month. But investigators have developed no evidence that 24-year-old Gary Walker, now on duty in a Navy helicopter anti-submarine squadron in Norfolk, Va., actually had anything to do with espionage, according to the sources.

They added that Gary Walker had voluntarily taken an FBI polygraph examination and showed no signs of deception. FBI spokesmen refused to comment, but the sources said they did not know why John Walker had included a reference to “F” in the message unless he “was blowing smoke”--trying to impress his Soviet superiors.

In the message, Walker allegedly listed his sources of information as “D,” “K,” “S” and “F.” The FBI has charged that “D,” “K” and “S” are the three arrested along with John Walker. An affidavit filed in connection with Whitworth’s arrest disclosed that two items uncovered in the search of John Walker’s residence “appeared to identify by first names” the persons he had designated with the letters.

“F” was identified as “Gary.” And Gary Walker was questioned by agents on May 20 and later submitted to the polygraph examination, the sources said. “There’s no evidence that he should be a suspect,” one source said.

Grand Jury Probes

While grand juries in San Francisco and Norfolk, Va., prepare to examine the charges against Whitworth and Arthur Walker, agents are pursuing leads from the large amount of documentary evidence that has been gathered. But nothing so far “points to any more central figures,” one source said.

Arrests of other persons involved in minor ways are possible in the Norfolk area and in California, according to the sources. Those could include one or more individuals said to have funneled confidential files from the Norfolk Police Department to John Walker’s detective firm, one source said.