Navy Spy Ring Suspect Denied Bail as Wealth Becomes an Issue

Jerry A. Whitworth, accused of being part of one of the most damaging U.S. spy rings in decades, was denied bail for a second time Thursday amid new allegations that he became a wealthy man by selling secret documents to the Soviets.

Cashier’s Checks

Assistant U.S. Atty. William (Buck) Farmer told a federal court here that a probe of Whitworth’s financial records shows that between 1975 and 1984 the former Navy enlisted man opened 37 bank accounts with deposits totaling about $500,000 and that he held 40 charge accounts.

In addition, Farmer said, 42 cashier’s checks, purchased with currency, were found during a search of Whitworth’s home in Davis last May.

Previously, the government had said that Whitworth was paid about $322,000 by John A. Walker Jr.--the alleged spy ringleader--for sensitive Navy communications documents that were then allegedly delivered by Walker to Soviet agents. However, the government had not disclosed where the money might have been deposited.

Farmer said that while the amounts could be “adjusted” downward after further review, Whitworth’s financial worth was “far in excess” of what he could have earned from his pay as a Navy radioman.

Whitworth’s attorney, James Larson, had attempted to convince U.S. District Judge John Vukasin that the government’s case was largely circumstantial.

Attorney’s Argument

In contrast to the sackfuls of apparently sensitive documents allegedly seized from Walker and his son, Michael, a Navy seaman also charged in the case, the evidence the government has used in court thus far against Whitworth, Larson argued, consists mainly of six documents, none of which had a rating above “confidential,” the lowest rank of secrecy.

John Walker’s brother, Arthur, was convicted last month of espionage.