Convicted Spy Chin Apparent Suicide Victim

Larry Wu-tai Chin, the first American ever convicted of spying for China, apparently committed suicide Friday in his suburban Virginia jail cell while awaiting sentencing next month, authorities said.

Chin, a 63-year-old retired CIA analyst, was found guilty two weeks ago on espionage, conspiracy and tax evasion charges and faced a maximum punishment of two life terms and $3.3 million in fines. He was scheduled to be sentenced March 17.

Justice Department officials said Chin, who was alone in his cell, apparently suffocated himself by pulling a plastic trash bag over his head. His fully clothed body was on his bunk. No notes were left.

Held in County Jail

Chin was being held in the Prince William County, Va., jail south of Washington in accordance with the policy of the U.S. Marshals Service, which contracts for prisoners awaiting sentencing to be housed in county jails.

“There was no indication there was any likelihood that Chin would commit suicide,” said one U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “You don’t put a jailer or a deputy sheriff watching an inmate around the clock when you have no indication he might harm himself.”

Nonetheless, U.S. Marshal Roger Ray said jail guards had removed Chin’s belt and shoelaces as a routine precaution against any suicide attempt. Ray declined to speculate on how Chin had obtained the plastic bag.

Another federal source, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, said a “suicide watch” had been instituted on Chin for several days but was dropped recently after officials felt assured that he was not suicidal.

Steve Boyle, a spokesman for the Marshals Service, said Chin had an early breakfast in his cell Friday. His body was discovered less than two hours later during a routine check and efforts to revive him failed, Boyle said.

Authorities said the precise cause of death would await an autopsy today.

30-Year Spying Career

Chin, a frail, slightly stooped man with a penchant for baggy gray suits, admitted at his recent trial that he had passed CIA documents to Peking during an espionage career that spanned more than 30 years. But he insisted that his motive was to improve relations between the United States and China, his native country. Even after his conviction, he expressed no remorse for his actions.

Chin testified he had received $140,000 to $150,000 over that period “only as a byproduct” of his efforts to improve Sino-U.S. relations. He contended his credibility would have been questioned by Chinese officials if he had rejected payment for his spying.

Federal prosecutors charged that Chin may have received as much as $1 million and invested parts of it in 31 properties in Washington, Baltimore and Las Vegas. Evidence presented at his trial showed that he had channeled funds through a Hong Kong bank account, which he kept secret from the Internal Revenue Service.

Had Access to Data

Chin, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the 1960s, retired from the CIA in 1981 as a middle-level intelligence officer. He had access to a broad range of classified information in connection with his job in the agency’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service, according to government evidence. The unit monitors and analyzes foreign radio broadcasts.

In addition, prosecutors told the jury, the foreign broadcast service translates classified documents for other branches of the CIA, which meant that Chin, who was fluent in Chinese and English, had access to sensitive CIA information relating to China.

He maintained ties with the agency after retirement by working as a consultant.

Chin’s defense attorney, Jacob A. Stein, said one of the documents Chin transmitted was former President Richard M. Nixon’s secret communique to Congress in 1972 on the eve of the U.S. rapprochement with China. But Chin never compromised any U.S. military secrets, Stein insisted.