Judge Speedily Convicts 1st of Accused Spies

Arthur Walker, variously described as a “sap” and someone “who put a knife in the back of the United States,” was convicted in 15 minutes Friday of helping his brother pass military secrets to the Soviet Union.

U.S. District Judge J. Calvitt Clarke swiftly handed down his verdict after the defense and prosecution finished their closing arguments.

“The court finds the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that Walker entered a conspiracy and passed military secrets “with the intent or belief that the information would be used to injure the United States or advantage a foreign power--in this case Russia,” Clarke said in rendering the verdict.

Sentencing Delayed

Walker, the first of four members of an alleged long-operating, family-friend spy ring to face trial, will not be sentenced for 60 days and has volunteered to help the government build its case against his younger brother.

The brother, John Walker, being held for trial with his son in Baltimore, is the alleged head of a spy ring said to be the source of the most damaging leaks of classified information since nuclear secrets were passed to Moscow in the 1950s.

Defense attorney Brian Donnelly, one of Arthur Walker’s two court-appointed lawyers, said the defendant is willing to testify against his younger brother “if he’s needed.”

The time before Walker’s sentencing “gives us enough time to determine whether the government is going to want to use him and whether we could turn that cooperation into something for our benefit,” Donnelly said.

Hoped for Better

“Arthur told us he had hoped for something better but I can’t really say he didn’t expect it,” Donnelly said.

U.S. Atty. Elsie Munsell told reporters outside the courthouse, “Of course we are pleased at the outcome of the week’s work--it is the first chapter of a story.”

The centerpiece of the government’s weeklong case against Walker, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, was a confession to the FBI and a sworn statement to a federal grand jury in which Walker said he passed a pair of confidential documents to his brother in 1981 and 1982--documents he sneaked from a defense plant where he worked in nearby Chesapeake, Md.

Walker, 50, of Virginia Beach, Va., father of three children and a former Little League coach, will be sentenced Oct. 15. He faces three life terms plus 40 years.

More ‘Sap’ Than Spy

Walker’s lawyers sought to portray their client, who retired from the Navy in 1973, as more of a “sap” than a spy, one who reluctantly turned to espionage to appease his younger brother.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Seidel, in closing arguments following four days of prosecution witnesses, said Walker admitted to the FBI to “committing the ultimate crime against the people of the United States--espionage.”

“The evidence shows he took a check with one hand from his employer and put a knife in the back of the United States with the other,” Seidel said.

Clarke heard the case without a jury at the request of Walker, who feared that he could not get an impartial panel in this city, home of the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet and the world’s largest Navy base.

Speedy Verdict

The judge, after spending 15 minutes in his chambers, read the verdict in a slow monotone. He found Walker guilty of each of seven counts of conspiracy, and obtaining, possessing and delivering confidential documents--one involving the USS Blue Ridge, flagship of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, and the other an entire class of five amphibious assault ships.

Arthur Walker is considered by the government to be a relatively minor player in the spy ring allegedly run by John Walker, who was arrested May 20 and is being held without bond on espionage charges. He faces trial Oct. 28 in Baltimore.

Michael Walker, 22, John Walker’s son, also is being held on espionage charges. Authorities contend that he smuggled classified documents from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz where he was assigned, to his father, who allegedly passed them on to the Soviets.

The fourth accused conspirator is Jerry Whitworth, 45, of Davis, Calif., a retired Navy man and John Walker’s longtime Navy buddy. He is being held without bond in San Francisco. Whitworth’s trial had been set for Aug. 26 but was delayed after new charges were lodged last week.