Spy Suspect Denied Trip for Mother’s Rites
Accused spy Jerry A. Whitworth has been denied a request to attend his mother’s funeral, his attorney said Wednesday.
San Francisco lawyer James Larson said Whitworth would be allowed to travel to Muldrow, Okla., guarded by two U.S. marshals, for a private viewing of his mother’s remains, but he would not be allowed to attend public services.
“They have had trouble with these kinds of events in the past,” Larson explained.
Agnes Morton, Whitworth’s 71-year-old mother, died in a traffic accident near Muldrow on Monday.
Whitworth, a retired Navy radioman accused of receiving $328,000 in return for military secrets meant to go to Soviet agents, decided against the trip Wednesday.
He would have had to pay all travel expenses for himself and the marshals at a cost estimated by Larson at $5,000.
Whitworth is alleged to have turned over sensitive Navy documents to John A. Walker Jr., accused ringleader of a major Navy family spy ring that federal authorities say included Walker’s son and brother.
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