Accused Spy Claims Charge Is a Mistake

Accused spy Jerry A. Whitworth has described the case against him as “a giant misunderstanding” by federal agents who “don’t appreciate or understand” his close friendship with alleged Navy spy ring mastermind John A. Walker Jr.

“The feds . . . particularly can’t accept that I could be a friend of Walker and not be involved with his alleged activities,” Whitworth said in a letter from jail, the text of which was made available to The Times.

Previously Whitworth had remained silent about the spy charges against him and never publicly acknowledged knowing Walker, the accused kingpin in what has been characterized as the most damaging Soviet spy network uncovered in the United States in 30 years.

“I’ll describe my situation as a giant misunderstanding. The feds don’t appreciate my many close friendships, male and female,” Whitworth wrote Don Morton of Muldrow, Okla., his high school teacher and long-time friend.

Morton said the letter came in response to a telephone conversation with Whitworth in which Morton asked him to explain why he was charged and to detail his relationship with Walker.

Since his arrest June 3, Whitworth--a retired Navy radioman--has been jailed at an undisclosed detention facility in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to friends and relatives, Whitworth has occupied his time reading, watching television and making telephone calls to family members and acquaintances around the nation.

Whitworth is being held without bail and under an assumed name in a cell with other federal prisoners. Among his cell mates are a member of the Hells Angels and an accused bank robber, according to Whitworth’s attorney, James Larson of San Francisco.

New Indictments Expected

Now charged with one count of conspiracy to commit espionage, Whitworth is expected to be indicted anew next week, his lawyers said, this time on income tax fraud charges and added counts of espionage.

Whitworth’s wife, Brenda Reis--who has remained at their home in Davis since her husband’s arrest--also is expected to be indicted on tax charges, according to her attorney, Clyde Blackmon of Sacramento.

Whitworth is accused of receiving at least $328,000 from Walker in exchange for top-secret Navy communications documents that Walker then allegedly turned over to Soviet agents. Whitworth is alleged to have turned over Navy secrets to Walker in such locales as Hong Kong, Manila, San Diego and Norfolk, Va.

Two Relatives Accused

Also accused with Walker and Whitworth in the spy ring are Walker’s son, Michael, who was a sailor aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz, and Walker’s brother, Arthur, a retired Navy lieutenant commander.

For the last several weeks, federal agents have been poring over bank accounts, property records and credit card statements belonging to Whitworth and Reis. They also have examined Reis’ student loan accounts at UC Davis, where she is a doctoral candidate in nutrition. According to Larson, Reis owes the government as much as $20,000 in loans taken out over a period of years to pay for her education.

Much of the pair’s financial data has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in San Francisco, defense attorneys said.

Investigators have found several instances where Whitworth or Reis bought fine jewelry, South African krugerrands and other coins and stock with cashier’s checks rather than personal checks, Larson said. The total value of the jewelry did not exceed $10,000, Larson said, but he has no figures for the krugerrands or stock purchases.

At the time of his arrest, Whitworth was attempting to become a stock broker but had failed a recent examination, according to a family friend, Adele Olson of Fresno.

The government does not have to prove the existence of the $328,000 in alleged payoffs from Walker in order to charge Whitworth and Reis with tax law violations. According to federal sources, all that is necessary is to show that the pair had a net worth, from whatever source, greater than what is declared in their tax returns.

Innocence Proclaimed

In his letters and telephone calls from jail, Whitworth has persistently proclaimed his innocence and complained about the media and the activities of federal agents, according to those who have heard from him.

“I am innocent of the charges against me, for the record. I am confident I’ll be exonerated. . . . Keep an open mind in regard to what you read and hear in the press,” Whitworth caution Monton.

Whitworth told his uncle, Willard Owens of Muldrow, that the charges against him were “absolutely ridiculous.”

“That’s how he put it, ‘absolutely ridiculous,’ ” Owens said in an interview.

Defense lawyers said they will seek another bail hearing for Whitworth after the next series of indictments.

“If I get bail, that will be great. If not, I’ll get by OK,” Whitworth wrote Morton. “Sure, I’ve had some very low points and have gone through hell, but I’ve come through thus far intact. My self-esteem is unaffected (high).”

Times staff writer Ronald J. Ostrow in Washington contributed to this story.