Navy Spy Suspect Had $350,000 in Bank : Whitworth’s Funds Reported Deposited Over 10-Year Time Span

Investigators found that $350,000 was deposited in the bank accounts of Jerry A. Whitworth, the fourth man arrested in the growing Navy spy scandal, Newsweek reports in its current edition.

The money, deposited over a decade, suggests payment for services rendered, unidentified sources told the magazine.

Whitworth, 45, a retired chief petty officer, was unemployed and living in a trailer in Davis, Calif., when he surrendered to federal authorities last week in San Francisco.

Also arrested in the case are John A. Walker Jr., 47, of Norfolk, Va.; his son, Michael, 22, and his brother Arthur, 50. John and Michael Walker pleaded innocent last week.

Documents found in John Walker’s home indicate that Walker met with Whitworth in Pacific ports and gave papers to the Soviets from the aircraft carriers on which Whitworth was stationed, Newsweek said, citing FBI officials.

Pentagon officials have noticed over the last four years that the Navy’s sonar system for detecting submarines was slipping due to advances in Soviet anti-detection technology, and observers say that development may be connected to the alleged spy ring, the magazine said.

The scandal may cause the Navy to upgrade its anti-submarine warfare capabilities, according to the report.

Authorities have said that the ring operated for about 20 years and that the motive was profit, rather than ideological considerations.

“They’re (the Soviets) not doing it by ideological conversion, they’re doing it by resorting to what appears to be our greatest vulnerability--individual greed,” FBI Director William Webster told the magazine.