Walker Feared He, Whitworth Might Be Slain

John A. Walker Jr. feared that Soviet agents might kill Jerry A. Whitworth and him when Whitworth stopped stealing high-quality naval secrets and was thinking about quitting espionage, Walker testified Thursday.

“I explained to him that in the field of espionage one doesn’t play games with one’s contacts,” Walker said.

Walker, the confessed leader of the espionage ring, said he issued the warning in 1983 or 1984, when Whitworth was wavering on whether to remain in the Navy, work as a civilian employee for the Navy, Air Force or CIA, or become a stock broker or computer salesman.

Testifying for the fourth day at the espionage trial of Whitworth, 46, Walker said he told his former Navy buddy that his continued indecision “could be dangerous to one’s health,” adding that it “put us in danger of being assassinated.”

‘Wishy-Washy’ Character

Walker described no specific threats from Soviet agents, but said the “wishy-washy” character of Whitworth was of deep concern to his contacts, who were forever searching for hints that the spying operation had been discovered.

Soviet agents thought one such sign was Whitworth’s transfer in 1982 from the Alameda Naval Air Station to the naval communication center at Stockton, Walker said.

Walker, who has admitted spying for the Soviets for 17 years until his arrest last May, said his Soviet contacts believed that the FBI orders transfers if it suspects someone of spying. In fact, Whitworth, a communications expert, found that he had little access to classified documents in Stockton, Walker said.

Walker said the Soviet agents’ concern grew when Walker delivered a batch of out-of-focus photographs of secret messages allegedly taken by Whitworth in 1983. By that time, Whitworth had left Stockton for a tour on the aircraft carrier Enterprise, where his access to classified information improved.

Tour Cut Short

The tour was supposed to have lasted three years, but was cut short when Whitworth retired from the Navy in October, 1983. That too raised concern on the part of the Soviets, Walker said.

Walker said that even in Vienna, where he delivered stolen material to Soviet agents, the Soviets were vigilant. His conversations there with Soviet agents invariably occurred as they strolled through residential streets. It was so cold there in the middle of winter, he said, that he wore electrically warmed socks.

“So you wouldn’t get cold feet in your face-to-face meetings?” Assistant U.S. Atty. William Buck Farmer quipped.

“That’s right,” Walker replied.

Walker testified earlier that Whitworth passed him notes about a new Navy technique of transmitting messages between ships by using extremely low amounts of power, a system designed to frustrate Soviet efforts to locate ships at sea from their radio waves. The notes were discovered when FBI agents searched Walker’s Norfolk, Va., home last year.

Aboard Carrier

The low-power technique was first used by the Navy on the aircraft carrier Constellation in 1980 while Whitworth was on board and in charge of its communications room, a previous witness said.

Walker also testified that Whitworth gave him a hand-drawn diagram of a new Navy satellite communications system.

Walker’s testimony will continue on Monday with cross-examination by Whitworth’s lawyers. Whitworth is accused of stealing classified Navy documents and coding material, which ended up in Soviet hands, and of failing to report $332,000 in income from spying.